4 Chilean Artists Abroad That Are Worth Knowing
They left Chile for different reasons, but these four Chilean artists have found in other countries the perfect place to develop their work. Here are his experiences in Germany, France and the United States.
By Valentina de Aguirre
After living in Venezuela, in 1983 the Chilean artist Soledad Salamé (@soledadsalame) settled in Washington DC driven by the quality of her museums, and in 2009 she moved to Baltimore, Maryland. "The other thing that was very important to me was the idea of time: everything in the United States moved faster. The man came to the moon and what were we doing with the brush in our hand? And of course at that time we did not have the communication systems or the technology integrated into today's art," he reflects.
In 2019, Salamé presented the project We The Migrants: Fleeing/Flooding, which reflected on migration, climate changes and the distortion of the news. Now, Soledad is investigating the landfill of used clothing in the Atacama Desert, focused on the ecological problems caused by fast fashion, which will be exhibited at the Blaffer Museum in Houston in January 2025.
On the influence of living in the United States on the development of her career, Soledad reflects: "It has not been easy, but many possibilities have been opened up. My work is in important collections and in museums such as The Women's Museum and The National Gallery of Art, both in DC."
For Soledad, the great challenge for Chilean artists abroad is how to get help to take their exhibitions to Chile and be present in the country. "I see art in Chile as very advanced and artists with very intelligent proposals. In addition, there is the Antenna group, which helps the promotion of art and artists. And I also see Ramón Sauma and Ca.Sa Collection inaugurating new spaces," he says.