Federico Guzmán was one of the youngest members of the so-called 'new Sevillian figuration', which revolutionized the Spanish art scene in the late 1980s. A sojourn in New York, followed by another in Colombia, between 1997 and 2000, gave him an awareness of the importance of nature and the social context in which the artist's work operates and confirmed his belief that art must be a tool for changing society and must therefore be public and collective. In his drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and performances, he uses a variety of techniques and materials, referencing the content of the works themselves. Guzmán returns these materials, transformed by human hands, to nature. Natural elements (plants are a recurring motif), culture and intra-history are intertwined in his work, presented with humour, optimism and irony through unusual associations and games of scale that draw on surrealist aesthetics to restore a harmonious coexistence between people and their immediate environment. His latest projects are closely linked to the Sahara, through ART ifariti, the International Art and Human Rights Meetings in the Western Sahara.
His work has been extensively displayed in Spain, with solo exhibitions at the Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art (Seville, 2001); Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona, 2001); La Caixa Foundation (Tarragona, 2003); the Ibero-American Museum of Contemporary Art (Badajoz, 2013); Palacio de Cristal, Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, 2016); and the San Telmo Museum (Donostia-San Sebastian, 2016). He has also participated in group exhibitions at the Museé d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (Paris, 2001); the Kunsthalle Bern (Bern, 2002); the Fridericianum Kunsthalle (Kassel, Germany, 2003); and the 'Speed I' exhibition at the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (Valencia, 2007). His work has been displayed at international events, including the Biennale of Sydney (1990), the Johannesburg Biennale (1995) and the Istanbul Biennial (1997). In 2018 the Valencia Institute of Modern Art staged a solo exhibition of his work entitled 'Federico Guzmán. Al borde del mundo' [Federico Guzmán. At the Edge of the World].
Federico Guzmán was one of the youngest members of the so-called 'new Sevillian figuration', which revolutionized the Spanish art scene in the late 1980s. A sojourn in New York, followed by another in Colombia, between 1997 and 2000, gave him an awareness of the importance of nature and the social context in which the artist's work operates and confirmed his belief that art must be a tool for changing society and must therefore be public and collective. In his drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and performances, he uses a variety of techniques and materials, referencing the content of the works themselves. Guzmán returns these materials, transformed by human hands, to nature. Natural elements (plants are a recurring motif), culture and intra-history are intertwined in his work, presented with humour, optimism and irony through unusual associations and games of scale that draw on surrealist aesthetics to restore a harmonious coexistence between people and their immediate environment. His latest projects are closely linked to the Sahara, through ART ifariti, the International Art and Human Rights Meetings in the Western Sahara.
His work has been extensively displayed in Spain, with solo exhibitions at the Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art (Seville, 2001); Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona, 2001); La Caixa Foundation (Tarragona, 2003); the Ibero-American Museum of Contemporary Art (Badajoz, 2013); Palacio de Cristal, Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, 2016); and the San Telmo Museum (Donostia-San Sebastian, 2016). He has also participated in group exhibitions at the Museé d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (Paris, 2001); the Kunsthalle Bern (Bern, 2002); the Fridericianum Kunsthalle (Kassel, Germany, 2003); and the 'Speed I' exhibition at the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (Valencia, 2007). His work has been displayed at international events, including the Biennale of Sydney (1990), the Johannesburg Biennale (1995) and the Istanbul Biennial (1997). In 2018 the Valencia Institute of Modern Art staged a solo exhibition of his work entitled 'Federico Guzmán. Al borde del mundo' [Federico Guzmán. At the Edge of the World].