Day 3 Bogota

Weather: Glorious in the morning and early afternoon, then rain starting in the late afternoon, heavy at times

Overall: The art tour had a great first full day! THB thinks a success is one where you see at least one piece of art he'd like to own and the tour exceeded that bar and then some.

Breakfast more of the same for THB: a few pastries, yogurt parfait, cafe con leche. DB was a bit more adventuresome, revolting eggs (that's spangleesh for scrambed) and a few other items. 

The tour group is up and on the bus at 9am. One newbie, Dan, is a friend of a friend of ours and the other, Sandra, turned out to graduate from the same high school THB and DB did, she managed to do it 10 years after us!

The first stop: a 22 year old textile weaving business about an hour away (meaning still near the hotel and downtown Bogota...10 miles away?), named Hechizoo, translation is "curse". It was started by the artist Jorge Lizarazo. 

 They make all sorts of products including weaving using metals (like copper). The visit was made here because the artist Jorge Lizarazo has his "tapestry" pieces made here and we are seeing his current exhibition later this morning. The company was only one small second floor office when it started and now extends over three large areas (including one end open to the sky!). They are trying to buy the last space on their level. 

Two of the managers are giving us the tour

Woven throughout with copper

THB and DB listened to The Book Of Emma Reyes, a memoir told through stories of the young Emma growing up in a convent in Colombia. One of her duties: handling the underneath the embroidery job. Guess the technique is still used today. Something tells THB the nuns did not give Emma a cushion to lay on.

This weaver had to code the loom using a sort of mini-typewriter. 

Many of the looms used foot treadles,  kind of like riding a Stairmaster or elliptical machine

The employees get a new shirt every year, this one has less than 4 weeks to go...

Indoor-Outdoor space 

Knot tying...while standing on a board. The woman on the right is "feeding" yarn to the knotters and there is another work hidden behind the piece who is snipping off loose ends. 

Carlos taking a pic of a metallic piece

A collection of hat forms

There is a chef on hand, working amongst the looms, fixing up excellent snacks for our hungry tour members

Two working together on this loom

Directions to the weavers posted on a display

The group reconvenes outside the unmarked entrance

And now to see Jorge's latest pieces on display:

This is half a light box - the light is coming from the top between two sides

Museum quality and size

A short walk away is the Espacio El Dorado gallery, spread over two large buildings. There is an exhibition of photographs from 40-50 years ago, new contemporary artists, and other works and a few haunting videos. 

The Highlights

Maria Jose Chica

Juan Camilo Uribe

Rosa Navarro

Antonio Inginio Caro

Jesus Correa Nache

Enrica Danelly Yandi, the pins stuck inwards are hard to see in pic

Camilo Lleras - pics from 1974, THB and DB considered two of these

Santiaggo Cardenas - documenting painting in progress

Lunch Finally, since it is now around 1:30. Today the group is divided in two, one table of 14 and one of 7. THB are at the table for 14, and it seems very loud. And the food is served family style and to THB's horror there are no serving spoons and for the desserts we were each given a longer spoon. Maybe Covid never came to Bogota? Very scary...

And the food is very good!

Billed as lemonade, really limeade

Miguel Angel Rojas

A terrific visit to the house and studio of Rojas. He was born in 1946 and his family lived in the house for only a few years before a terrifying political assassination occurred and the family fled Bogota. Many years later (if THB understood the story), after the house had been rented in the interim, Rojas' brother said the house was his as part of their inheritance. Rojas then remodeled it and of most interest to THB he installed gratings between the floors and as the stairs so that the sound from the third floor could be heard on the first. 

Rojas is gay, a recovered cocaine addict and an environmentalist (much of his art is focused on the degradation from the gold mining done in Colombia). He was charming and the art in his house is very interesting, it must represent a very small sample of what he has done over the years.

Miguel Angel Rojas

Casas Riegner

A short trip from Rojas's house to his gallery! Riegner has a large exhibition of Beatriz Gonzalez on their first floor. She is 90, and has been in the forefront of the artist movement of revealing the disasters (i.e., massacres, corruption, chaos) of the political right fighting rebels, creating paramilitaries and the drug cartels. 

Beatriz Gonzalez: two men carrying a corpse, part of a sketch for wallpaper

The gallerist met us at Rojas' house/studio and is now leading us through the exhibitions

Another Rojas "mattress" painting...terrific, on $50,000

glass tiara

Dinner in the room with a glass of wine and a chocolate tasting

Pics from around town

The vendor is just setting up and his "stall" is jutting into the street. The bus can't make the turn so the vendor has to pull in his set-up until we pass by.