Valeria Montti Colque
Studio grant holder in Stockholm 1 April – 31 September 2020
Valeria Montti Colque. Born in Stockholm 1978. Lives and works in Stockholm.
My approach is based on narratives, and I build worlds of imagery inspired by everyday life, along with myths, religions, society, heritage and popular culture. My works often feature symbols and metaphors. I mix media, materials and styles, including drawing, painting and performance, and I often work collectively. I plan to explore collage, collage murals, to expand on my works Molnskogen, Horisontens Fåglar and Det Svarta Vilda Molnet (Cloud Forest, Birds of the Horizon and The Black, Wild Cloud).
Sten Manne, Photo: Valeria Montti Colque
The latter takes the form of a story about a transformative journey involving motherhood and social heritage. The work is based on the story of a child that is followed by a large, black cloud, and how frustration, disappointment, impulsiveness and emotions turn to rage. How children can harbour energies that are hard to control and are labelled by society as inappropriate behaviour. The work also touches on how our behavioural patterns generate closeness and distance. Exclusion is caused by difficulties in understanding social codes and society’s tacit rules. The work portrays feelings and transformation, perpetual change, how time cannot be stopped, how everything changes depending on what nourishment it is given. The most beautiful flower grows from darkness.
Studied at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 1998–2004. Participated in numerous international exhibitions and performances. In 2019, I exhibited at the National Museum of World Culture, Södertälje Konsthall and Kunsthal 3.14 (Bergen, Norway), and SAVVY (Berlin, Germany) under Ecologies of Darkness. The performance works Building Grounds on Shifting Sands. Horisontens Fåglar Norra bantorget, Konstmaraton was performed in collaboration with the musicians Ida Lod and David Heikiinen. In 2018, I was commissioned by Haninge Municipality to create a public work of art. In 2020: Österängs Konsthall, Hammarkullens Konsthall and El Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (Santiago, Chile).