Animal Farm: Artist transforms everyday objects into beautiful animal sculptures

Born in Bogota, Uribe's artwork resists classification. Rooted in the craft of sculpture and paint, it rises from intertwining everyday objects in all possible and surprising ways, but still with a formal reference to the history and tradition of classical art.

Uribe studied art at the University of Los Andes in Bogota and in 1988 left for New York to study a Master of Fine Arts degree under the supervision of Luis Camnitzer. It was the beginning of a journey that included years of studies and work in Cuba, Mexico, Russia, England and finally Miami.

Initially his formation began as a painter with sensual and brooding canvases influenced by his dark reflections on the Catholic sense of pain, guilt and sexuality. In 1996, abandoning his paintbrushes and attracted by the usually neglected beauty of simple objects in daily use, he began to observe them with care, collect them, set them side by side and combine them. They became unusual instruments of a new aesthetic, full of colour, irony and lively playfulness.

Uribe creates sculptures which are not sculpted but constructed and weaved, in curious and unpredictable, repetitive and almost compulsive ways. They follow the classical canons of figurative and abstract art, but the result is absolutely whimsical, yet contains enormous efficacy and communicability. When observed up close, his artworks reveal various kinds of interpretations; they invite us to touch them, to discover the detail and connection between one element and another. When viewed from further away, they offer volumes, forms, textures and colour. Distance, proximity and perception are key factors in the interconnection between Uribe’s work and its viewers.

To discover more visit www.federicouribe.com.