Carolina Caycedo's 'Confluences' Retrospective Opens at Museu de Arte de São Paulo
The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is currently hosting Carolina Caycedo's retrospective titled 'Confluences,' which will be on display until 4 October. This exhibition showcases her assemblage sculptures alongside political documentation, prominently featuring two photomontages: 'The Collapsing of a Model (Brumadinho)' (2019), which addresses the Brumadinho dam disaster, and 'Elwha's Healing' (2022/26), highlighting the rejuvenated Elwha river. The central piece, 'Confluências' (2026), is a textile collage filled with activist slogans. Additionally, 'My Feminine Lineage of Environmental Struggle' (2018–19) pays tribute to figures like Adelinda Gómez Gaviria, Dora Alicia Recinos Sorto, and Marielle Franco. The 'Mineral Intensive' series (2023–) critiques mining for clean energy, while 'Amulets for Fair Energy Transition' (2022) showcases sculptures adorned with precious stones. A dedicated video room features three films, including 'A Gente Rio' (2016).
Key facts
- Carolina Caycedo's retrospective 'Confluences' is on view at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo through 4 October.
- Caycedo is an LA-based Colombian artist and environmental activist.
- 'The Collapsing of a Model (Brumadinho)' (2019) references the 2019 Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil, where 12 million cubic metres of toxic mining waste broke through a concrete wall in the Minas Gerais town.
- 'Elwha's Healing' (2022/26) documents the Elwha river in the US Northwest, which returned to its natural course after dams were removed following years of activism.
- 'Confluências' (2026) is a textile collage of activist T-shirts, flags and banners hung on a curving architectural frame forming a spiralling corridor.
- 'My Feminine Lineage of Environmental Struggle' (2018–19) includes portraits of Adelinda Gómez Gaviria, assassinated in 2013, Dora Alicia Recinos Sorto, and Marielle Franco.
- The 'Mineral Intensive' series (2023–) depicts mining facilities extracting minerals the World Bank identified as necessary to the clean energy transition.
- 'A Gente Rio' (2016) was first shown at the Bienal de São Paulo, whose organisers accepted Vale, the dam's operator, as a sponsor last year.
Entities
Artists
- Carolina Caycedo
- Per Kirkeby
- Adelinda Gómez Gaviria
- Dora Alicia Recinos Sorto
- Marielle Franco
- Paul Salveson
- Oliver Basciano
Institutions
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo
- World Bank
- Women of the Colombian Massif
- Bienal de São Paulo
- Vale
- ArtReview
Locations
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Colombia
- Brazil
- Brumadinho
- Minas Gerais
- Elwha
- US Northwest
- Rio de Janeiro
- São Paulo
- El Salvador
- Kurdistan
- Europe