Paradiso: Latin American Artists Challenge Utopian Myths at AlbumArte

The exhibition 'Paradiso' at AlbumArte in Rome, curated by Rosa Jijón, presents works by five artists—four Latin American and one Italian—who subvert the colonial stereotype of Latin America as a virgin paradise. The show explores cultural hybridity, identity, and geopolitical displacement through installations, videos, and paintings. Juan Esteban Sandoval's acrylic-on-paper landscapes depict idealized Italian scenes reminiscent of vintage postcards. Elena Mazzi's wooden frames with beeswax maps draw parallels between nomadic beekeeping and migrant labor. Marlon de Azambuja's tropical plant, its leaves coated in paint, symbolizes cultural revitalization. Estefanía Peñafiel Loaiza's video circles the Centre de rétention in Paris, highlighting societal blindness to detention centers. Óscar Santillán's lens made from Atacama Desert sand transforms landscapes into unsettling observers. The exhibition runs at AlbumArte in Rome.