Humberto Velez
Vélez's work actively explores the possibilities of working in collaboration with different groups (artists and handcrafters, special communities, athletes, musicians and groups conformed especially for the project), in different places and cultures. The artistic projects are conceived from what he calls "the ability to create esthetics” of, for, and with these groups, according to their different lifestyles, thereby managing different concepts and expressions of popular culture, power, and ethics. The human relations on which Vélez constructs his creative processes are as important as the final project. In his work, as it was described by curator Gerardo Mosquera, "the community should be an active agent" at the same time as his art also "interweaves personal memories, dreams, visions, and the determination of pretending to invent new worlds." For this, the artist works with diverse media, ranging from the popular to the high-tech, from the traditional to the contemporary. He has lived in the UK since 1996.
Humberto will be coming in residence with Metal at Chalkwell Hall in March 2010.
