II Concurso de Arte Joven (Second Young Artist Competition)

Alejandro Castillo-Beltrán was the winner of the Second Young Artist Competition organized by the Organización Sanitas Internacional. He is a Fine Arts Professor at the National University of Colombia and at the Colegio Gabriel Betancourt Mejía. Castillo-Beltrán won the award for his work entitled En Pedazos Quedaron (They Were Left in Pieces), a graphite on vinyl image, inspired by The Disasters of War by Goya, to address the political reality in Colombia. The artist¿s technique imitates engraving, although it is actually not. The legend confirming the meaning of the image that is inscribed below it alludes to Goya¿s own inscriptions that accompany his heart-rending images. What makes Castillo-Beltrán¿s image his own is the appropriation, the intentional imitation, deceiving the eye through an outright illusion. There were 1,116 artists who took part in the competition. The event¿s director, Bibiana Cocheteux, expressed her satisfaction with the number of participating artists and works this year. She also pointed out that the competition¿s goal is ¿to promote and showcase the art of young Colombian artists and to establish new spaces for cultural promotion.¿ Participating in the jury panel this year were Paula Silva, Fine Arts Professor at the Jorge Tadeo-Lozano University and curator; Esteban Jaramillo, creator of the La Cometa Gallery; Rodrigo Campos, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of Spain in Colombia, and Jesús Méndez, editor of the Bacánika periodical. The exhibit¿s Official Catalog was presented during the award ceremony. It was published by the Organización Sanitas Internacional and included the 23 finalist works, which were exhibited at La Cometa Gallery.