Since my earliest works, in which I explored the visibility of those displaced and exiled by the armed conflict in my country of origin, my artistic practice has evolved into a pursuit where art and life are inextricably intertwined. Over time, this pursuit has led me to develop an intuitive approach in which pictorial, graphic, linguistic, conceptual, and cinematic elements converge. For me, these modes of expression do not operate in isolation but are articulated within a plastic process where thought and matter coexist, generating an expanded space for artistic exploration.

This transdisciplinary approach is informed by my transcontinental experience, shaped by inhabiting different territories and cultures. More than a mere geographical displacement, this condition has deepened my interest in revealing the political through a poetic dimension, where art is not conceived as a mere exercise in representation but as a dialogue between the natural and the human. In this sense, my practice establishes an interaction between the artificiality of the artistic gesture and the forces of the natural world: stones, herbs, water, the flight of the condor, or the melting of the Antarctic ice emerge as signs within a visual and conceptual ecosystem in which the material and the ephemeral are interwoven.

Despite the diversity of media and discursive strategies I employ, drawing—particularly the use of graphite—remains the central axis of my practice. This dimension becomes most evident in my large-format “chronotopes”, where notions of time and space collapse into an indivisible unity. In these works, I do not seek to document a moment but rather to encapsulate an expanded temporality, where each stroke becomes a testament to thought in action. Thus, drawing is not merely a technique but the conceptual structure that binds my work together, articulating a language in which the tangible and the elusive meet in a dynamic field of constant tensions.

ESTEBAN SÁNCHEZ (Bogotá, Colombia 1982)
Transdisciplinary artist – processual art

Esteban Sánchez began his artistic training at renowned institutions such as Pratt Institute and Purchase College (SUNY). In 2010, he earned a graduate degree in Fine and Visual Arts at the National University of Colombia. Thanks to an art scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he continued his academic development at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne (KHM), joining its postgraduate programme as a guest student in 2011. His interest in critical thinking and the intersection between art and philosophy led him to obtain a Master’s degree in Philosophy in 2021 from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, a University of Excellence.

As an independent artist and experimental researcher, Sánchez’s practice operates at the threshold between philosophy and art. His work explores contemporary media and their conceptual frameworks, examining drawing as a form of thought, sculpture as landscape, sound as materiality, and language as a dichotomy between reality and fiction.

His works have been exhibited in prestigious museums, institutions, and contemporary art galleries in various cities, including Bogotá, Cartagena, Medellín, and Santa Marta (Colombia); Havana (Cuba); Bilbao (Spain); Bochum, Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, and Soest (Germany); London (United Kingdom); Budapest (Hungary); and Porto (Portugal).

Esteban Sánchez currently lives and works in Cologne, where he continues to develop his artistic and research practice.

10.2017 – 11.2021

Philosophy (Master of Arts). Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Exzellenzuniversität), Germany.

06.2011 – 09.2012

Guest student at the postgraduate programme in Media Arts (DAAD Scholarship for Art in Creation and Research). Academy of Media Arts. Cologne, Germany.

07.2003 – 03.2010

Maestro in Fine Arts. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

2024

AUF DEN FELDERN DER ZEIT. Matjö – Raum für Kunst | Kulturwerk des BBK Köln e.V., Germany.

2021

VIDA. Action in public space. Bonn, Germany.

2019

(DE)MATERIALIZE, with Timo Herbst. Kunstraum Ortloff. Leipzig, Germany.

2017

GOODBYE – PERFORMANCE, with Kate Hattley. Atelierhaus des Bonner Kunstvereins. Bonn, Germany. 

2016

SIGA, ESTA ES SU CASA. /CHAPTER 3, with Clemens Baldszun. Atelierhaus des Bonner Kunstvereins. Bonn, Germany.

2011

SUEÑOS AL VIENTO ENTRE NUEVOS CIELOS A CONTEMPLAR. Galería DOCE CERO CERO. Bogotá, Colombia.

2009

DETENERSE A RESPIRAR, with Natalia La Reina. Galería de exposiciones, Centro Colombo Americano Bogotá, Colombia.

SUSPIRĬUM “C’est la vie”. Galería de exposiciones, Centro Colombo Americano Bogotá, Colombia.

2023

AUFBRUCH | UMBRUCH. Museum Wilhelm Morgner & Künstlerhaus im Paulipark – Kulturparlament Soest e.V., Germany.

2022

OPEN#1 – VORUM VIKTORIABAD. Museumsstudien der Universität Bonn in Kooperation mit dem Stadtmuseum Bonn, Germany.

2020

POSSIBILITIES ON PAPER. Galerie fiebach, minninger. Cologne, Germany.

ENTERVENTIONALE#2020, Kunsthistorisches Institut der Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany. 

2019

TRACING ECHOES, fffriedrich Galerie. Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

TIERRA FIRME, Travesía. Centro Cultural Gabriel García Márquez. Bogotá, Colombia.

2018

BEHAUSUNG, Künstlerforum Bonn, Germany.

DIE AUFTEILUNG DES RAUMES, Q18 – Quartier Am Hafen. Cologne, Germany.

2017

72 STUNDEN AUSSTELLUNSPROJEKT, jungekunstfreunde & Bunker k101. Freunde des Wallraf-Richartz Museums und des Museum Ludwig. Cologne, Germany.

TEXTOUR. Künstlerforum Bonn/ArtQuartier Budapest, Germany/Hungary.

2016

INS OFFENE. Hommage an den Zeichner von Nippes. A.C. Kunsthalle. Cologne, Germany.

I AM NOT PERFORMING. Opekta Ateliers Cologne, Germany.

2015

PRESENCIAS Y AUSENCIAS. Transversus, Santuario San Pedro Claver. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

LINEAS COLOMBIANAS. Art & Partners, Casa Embajada de España. Bogotá, Colombia.

2014

VANISHING POINTS. Guest Projects. London, United Kingdom.

2013

THE OCEAN AND THE RIVER. Lófte. Karat – Maus Hábitos. Porto, Portugal.

KARAT KATAR KRAAT AKTRA. Karat ist draußen. Cologne, Germany.

2012

5° premio ARTE-JOVEN. Embajada de España, Colsanitas. La Central. Bogotá, Colombia.

LEER_STELLE. C60 + Minus1Experimentallabor der KHM Köln, Urbane Künste Ruhr. Rotunde- Alter Bochumer Hauptbahnhof. Bochum, Germany.

HOW DO YOU KNOW I LIKE MUSHROOMS?, John Cage “AMERICA”. Acht Brücken Festival. Music für Köln. Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, Germany.

2011

10 FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE LA IMAGEN. Media Art. Universidad de Caldas. Manizales, Colombia.

INTERMEDIOS 2 “Medios – Naturaleza – Cultura”. Seminario teórico internacional. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

LADY ZORRO: Devoción por un ídolo. Bastardo™: Imperio de Culto Visual. Bogotá, Colombia.

2010

MATERIAL E INMATERIALIDAD, “Procesos y Nuevas Prácticas Artísticas Contemporáneas”. Instituto Superior de Arte, Universidad de las Artes. La Habana, Cuba.

BIENAL DE VENECIA DE BOGOTÁ 7, grupo TÄI. Bienal de Venecia de Bogotá (Project Director), Colombia.

PERFOARTNET 2010, Bienal Internacional de Performance (Cultural Managment). Bogotá, Colombia. 

SONARE. Museo Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia.

LABORATORIO EXPERIMENTAL DE PERFORMANCE. Fundación Wajá – Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano Bogotá, Colombia.

PLATAFORMA. Laboratorio de Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología. Galería Santa Fe. Bogotá, Colombia.

9 FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE LA IMAGEN. Puentes Sonoros. Manizales, Colombia.

50 FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE DE CARTAGENA (FICCI). Categoría Videoarte. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

2009

ZONA DE DISTENSIÓN PORTÁTIL. Cumbre Mundial De Paz. Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango. Bogotá, Colombia.

INTEMEDIOS “El Arte En Lugar De Los Medios”. Seminario teórico internacional. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

MITO Y REALIDAD. Museo Bolivariano de Arte Contemporáneo, Santa Marta, Colombia.

PEQUEÑAS CUESTIONES / GRANDES CUESTIONES. Fundación Gilberto Alzate Avendaño. Bogotá, Colombia.

2008

MITO Y REALIDAD. Casa Simón Bolívar. La Habana, Cuba.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR, grupo nadieøpina. Museo de Arte, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

2007

XXXIV SALÓN FRANCISCO ANTONIO CANO. Museo de Arte, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

II SALON UNIVERSITARIO ASAB. Academia Superior de Artes de Bogotá, Colombia.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR, grupo nadieøpina. Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia.

2006

XXXIII SALÓN FRANCISCO ANTONIO CANO. Museo de Arte, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

2004

SIN EQUIPAJE, Mario Opazo. (Asistente de Dirección) Película digital, 60 min. Sala Los Acevedo, Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia.

MIGRACIONES. Auditorio León De Greiff, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.

2022

NEUSTART KULTUR-Scholarship for Independent Artists (2nd edition). Stiftung Kunstfonds (Germany)

2021 – 2020

Art Scholarship of the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)

2018

Invited artist to the Colombian art project in Antarctica. COLOMBIAN ANTARCTIC PROGRAMME & Pedro Vicente Maldonado Research Facility (Colombia/Antarctica)

2017

Artist-in-residence and artist exchange programme – TEXTOUR. Künstlerforum Bonn/ArtQuartier Budapest (Germany/Hungary)

2016

Atelier Grant. Bonner Kunstverein (Germany)

2013

THE OCEAN AND THE RIVER. Karat – Maus Hábitos Art Residency. Porto (Portugal)

2011

DAAD Scholarship for Art in Creation and Research. German Academic Exchange Service (Germany)

Honourable Mention, 10 FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE LA IMAGEN. Manizales (Colombia)

2006

Honourable Mention, XXXIII SALÓN FRANCISCO ANTONIO CANO. Museo de Arte, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá (Colombia)