Sair García

Between the years 2013 and 2019 the Colombian artist Sair García dedicated more than 90 pieces to the series ‘Magdalena;’ today compiled in a book of the same name published by the Duque Arango gallery. This series is part of a collection of oil paintings on metal sheets, usually stainless steel but also bronze, that depict scenes and landscapes of the banks of the Magdalena River. The river is witness and testimony to the history of Colombia given that it has served as the principal commercial route for the country throughout the centuries and more recently, has been key to transporting it’s most exported products: bananas and cocaine. The scenes painted by García do not include episodes of violence but rather present the landscape as a silent scene whose tragic past is hidden behind the undergrowth and under water. The metal surface not only contributes to the blending of sky and water, as a continuous element that prevents distinguishing between the past and future, but also metal (like water) is a medium for communication. In the works we are dealing with here, mass graves and other traces of violence are camouflaged behind lush banana plants.