Ten artists worked in ten patios in the historical center of Ecuador’s capital city

Mona Hatoum, « Hanging Garden, » 2008/2010
Installation

Miguel Alvear
Magdalena Atria
Pablo Cardoso
Mona Hatoum
Cristina Lucas
Rubens Mano
Larissa Marangoni
Priscilla Monge
Jorge Perianes
Javier Téllez

Curator: Gerardo Mosquera
Sepember 4 – October 2, 2010

Inspired by El Patio de mi Casa. Contemporary Art in 16 Patios of Cordoba, inaugurated in October 2009, ARTEDUCARTE and Grupo El Comercio have organized interventions by artists from various countries in ten patios in Quito’s extraordinary historical center, the largest in Latin America and one of the most notable for its architectural, artistic and historical riches. The patios are found in buildings used as convents, cultural centers, hospitals, shops and private dwellings. These sites are peculiar and very complex due to their architectural and spatial traits, its intermediate character between interior and exterior, public and private, in addition of its very specific traditional contents, and for being « living » environments that maintain their ordinary uses.

The works, for the most part specific interventions, were inspired by each patio, and achieved a mutually enriching dialogue between patios and contemporary art. The patios have not been used to show work, but as active components in a relationship that creates situations, fruit of the interactions between patios and artistic interventions. That is, rather than site-specific pieces, significant conjunctions have been created where the patio takes on a leading role. The works tense and probe the relationship between public and private spheres, between art and daily life, between the contemporary, historical and traditional.

Contemporary Art and Patios of Quito is composed of two exhibitions in one: visitors appreciate the art as well as the patios, some of which have been opened especially for the occasion. Each of the ten patios presents a particular encounter between patio and art that possesses its own contents and visuality, addressed to a wide, not specialized audience, but without decreasing artistic complexity. The works surprise, break ambiences and daily routines usual in the places by introducing an aesthetic shock that upsets an entire corpus of established experience. The « theme » of the exhibit are the patios themselves as aesthetic, cultural, historical, significant spaces.

A bilingual catalogue in Spanish and English will be published shortly and artist José Guayasamín will film a documentary about the project.

www.artepatiosquito.com