Edgar Negret Dueñas is considered to be one of the most distinguished sculptors of geometric abstract works in Colombia. He was greatly influenced by Jorge Oteiza following his time at the Cali School of Fine Arts. Thanks to Oteiza, Negret adopted new aesthetic ideas and learned from books on and reproductions of the work of leading contemporary sculptors, particularly Henry Moore. His 1953 trip to Paris to see a posthumous retrospective of Julio González was also a revelation. In Paris, he also visited the workshops of Constantin Brâncuşi and Jean Tinguely. In 1963 he moved to New York, where he started the Magical Devices series, comprising constructions made using occasionally mobile metal pieces in which he evokes complex, modern industrial technology. It was on this series that he began to work with the coloured sheet metal and bars that were to become fundamental in his aesthetic quest. His materials at that time included plaster, ceramics, steel and iron. At the end of the 1960s, back in Colombia, his focus shifted again has he committed to the historical, political and social reality of the country, drawing inspiration from a large number of sources ranging from the natural exuberance of the Andes to its myths, with a direct commitment to prehistoric culture. Aluminium then became a fundamental part of his work. In 1963 he took part in the 15th National Salon of Artists in Colombia and took First Prize for Sculpture. In 1966 he was awarded the Silver Medal at the São Paulo Biennial and he won First Prize again at the National Salon of Artists in 1967. In 1968 he received the Sculpture Prize at the Venice Bienniale.
He staged many solo shows at museums and galleries around the world, including the Bogota Modern Art Museum (1965), the São Paulo Modern Art Museum (1966), the Caracas Fine Arts Museum (1973), the Puerto Rico Fine Arts Museum (1974), the Center for Inter-American Relations (New York, 1976) and the Conde Duque Cultural Centre (Madrid, 1996). 1985 saw the opening of the Edgar Negret Museum in Bogota, which houses a large part of his legacy. In 2010, the Colombian Government awarded him the Great Order of the Ministry of Culture and a major retrospective exhibition was held at the Congress of the Republic of Colombia to mark the occasion.
Edgar Negret Dueñas is considered to be one of the most distinguished sculptors of geometric abstract works in Colombia. He was greatly influenced by Jorge Oteiza following his time at the Cali School of Fine Arts. Thanks to Oteiza, Negret adopted new aesthetic ideas and learned from books on and reproductions of the work of leading contemporary sculptors, particularly Henry Moore. His 1953 trip to Paris to see a posthumous retrospective of Julio González was also a revelation. In Paris, he also visited the workshops of Constantin Brâncuşi and Jean Tinguely. In 1963 he moved to New York, where he started the Magical Devices series, comprising constructions made using occasionally mobile metal pieces in which he evokes complex, modern industrial technology. It was on this series that he began to work with the coloured sheet metal and bars that were to become fundamental in his aesthetic quest. His materials at that time included plaster, ceramics, steel and iron. At the end of the 1960s, back in Colombia, his focus shifted again has he committed to the historical, political and social reality of the country, drawing inspiration from a large number of sources ranging from the natural exuberance of the Andes to its myths, with a direct commitment to prehistoric culture. Aluminium then became a fundamental part of his work. In 1963 he took part in the 15th National Salon of Artists in Colombia and took First Prize for Sculpture. In 1966 he was awarded the Silver Medal at the São Paulo Biennial and he won First Prize again at the National Salon of Artists in 1967. In 1968 he received the Sculpture Prize at the Venice Bienniale.
He staged many solo shows at museums and galleries around the world, including the Bogota Modern Art Museum (1965), the São Paulo Modern Art Museum (1966), the Caracas Fine Arts Museum (1973), the Puerto Rico Fine Arts Museum (1974), the Center for Inter-American Relations (New York, 1976) and the Conde Duque Cultural Centre (Madrid, 1996). 1985 saw the opening of the Edgar Negret Museum in Bogota, which houses a large part of his legacy. In 2010, the Colombian Government awarded him the Great Order of the Ministry of Culture and a major retrospective exhibition was held at the Congress of the Republic of Colombia to mark the occasion.