The Ritz Herald
© Joaquín Restrepo

Joaquín Restrepo: An Artist Trying to Find Hell in Switzerland


Joaquín Restrepo's artworks are being exhibited simultaneously in the US, Switzerland, and Colombia

Published on December 27, 2021

The visual artist and sculptor Joaquín Restrepo exhibits V.I.T.R.I.O.L. in Texas, an artistic selection that comprises 27 pieces of sculpture, drawings, large-format canvases, and a virtual projection that offers the viewer a retrospective, which are currently on display at The Gallery at Vaudeville, in Fredericksburg, until the end of December 2021.

The artist with Jewish-Hispanic roots travels regularly to Texas and Florida to present his works. The bronze and iron sculptures, the large-format canvases, and ink drawings that mix different artistic techniques capture the essence of the trips that he usually makes.

Simultaneously, the visual artist will show his work in Switzerland, as selected by the PROGR, to be part of the Residency.ch artistic residency, which is supported by the Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss, through the Kunst Museum in Bern, Switzerland. Throughout December, Restrepo will create a metaverse inspired by Dante’s Inferno and Carl Jung’s black books, from which new physical works and a series of NFTs will also be generated.

“This appropriation of Dante’s Inferno is the continuation of the work I did last year and which I am now exhibiting in Texas. Because if you do not go in search of destiny and embrace it, destiny will find you; This shock starts a kind of descent into hell, and I think the best way to deal with it is to integrate into our lives those parts of our personality that we repress. It is not a straightforward path, but I think it is a way to find meaning in life, even more so in this age of hyper-connectivity, where the last thing we do is learn to live with ourselves,” Restrepo affirmed.

Restrepo has created a strong link between art and technology, which has allowed him to move between drawing, painting, sculpture and immersive digital experiences, such as his Amor Fati app in 2020 and in presenting his work as NFTs (Non-Fundible Tokens).

Senior Writer