Null

Curated by William Contreras Alfonso & Linda Pongutá

William Contreras Alfonso, Untitled, 2018
In the center of the Colombian capital, a building that was previously a symbol of progress and prosperity is now abandoned. It was built to host the offices of the state telecommunications company, TELECOM, and its modern infrastructure was once admired as a promise of a brighter future for the country. Now the building is empty, its facilities are a shameful monument to the mismanagement of our nation’s money. The company went bankrupt in 2003 due to government corruption. The TELECOM building is a symbol of Bogota’s downtown economic difficulties, usually masked by gentrification projects.

Our project summons 13 artists to take over three floors of the abandoned building., Working there, each artist will intervene the edifice with the elements that are already in place and formulate an artistic reflection. Working in various techniques, the collective is unified by their approaches to the same subject: modern human interconnectivity.

The title of the exhibition, “Null”, comes from a term used in telecommunications meaning a misspoint, a false data input or a programming mistake. This project tries to reevaluate mistakes and system errors as a starting point for brand new ideas and possibilities for the future, believing in people’s connection as its key.
 

  • artists:
    Alejandro Salcedo
    Ana María Montenegro
    María Leguízamo
    Matilde Guerrero
    William Contreras Alfonso
    Néstor Marcelo Gutiérrez
    Juan Carlos Delgado
    Luisa Roa
    Maria Clara Figueroa
    Pedro Aparicio
    Linda Pongutá
    Sebastián Mira
    Wilmer Rodriguez
Linda Pongutá and William Contreras Alfonso live in Bogotá, interested in collective work, urban spaces and industrial ruins as a workspace. Their reflection on tactile thinking, spirituality and work ethics in art are present in their most recent projects.



apexart’s program supporters past and present include the National Endowment for the Arts, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Kettering Family Foundation, the Buhl Foundation, The Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Spencer Brownstone, the Kenneth A. Cowin Foundation, Epstein Teicher Philanthropies, The Greenwich Collection Ltd., William Talbott Hillman Foundation/Affirmation Arts Fund, the Fifth Floor Foundation, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, The Puffin Foundation, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and administered by LMCC, funds from NYSCA Electronic Media/Film in Partnership with Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.