Edgar Calel studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte Rafael Rodríguez Padilla.
2023 year exhibited in Biennial Find out more
He works in a variety of media, exploring the complexities of the indigenous experience, as seen through the Mayan Kaqchikel cosmovision, spirituality, rituals, community practices, and beliefs, in juxtaposition with the systematic racism and exclusion that the indigenous people of Guatemala endure on a daily basis.
He recently had his first solo Pa Ru Tun Che ́ (From a Tree Top) at Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City, (2021);and has participated in numerous group exhibitions including Is It Morning for You Yet?, 58th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh (2022); The Crack Begins Within, 11th Berlin Biennial, Berlin (2020); Los Jardineros (The Gardeners), Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City (2020); Continuous Fire | Feu continuel, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (2019); Virginia Pérez Ratton. Centroamérica: Deseo de lugar /Centra America, MUAC Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2019)His works are part of the permanent collections of Tate, UK; Museo Nacional Centro de ArteReina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; the National Gallery of Canada, Ontario; Fundación TEOR/ética,San José, Costa Rica; MADC Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, San José, CostaRica; and Kadist, San Francisco. Additionally, he has participated in artistic residenciesincluding Tropical Papers (2021); Residencia Rua do Sol, Portugal (2019), and at Lastroresearch platform, Brazil, 2015), amongst others.
Liverpool Biennial 2023
Ru k’ox k’ob’el jun ojer etemab’el (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge) (2021)
Edgar Calel’s work ‘Ru k’ox k’ob’el jun ojer etemab’el (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge)’ (2021) presents stones as sacred sites of ritual adorned with fruit and vegetables placed during a private ritual during the exhibition installation. Exhibited here for the first time since Tate began its 13-year custodianship of the work, the piece exists as an offering to the land and Calel’s ancestors. In the artist’s home, stories from dreams are shared amongst families over breakfast and are understood to foretell the energy for the day or task ahead. For Calel, dreams, art and spirituality are always interconnected and here, they have determined the specific produce which is on offer as thanks. Calel draws on ancestral knowledge
Edgar Calel’s work ‘Ru k’ox k’ob’el jun ojer etemab’el (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge)’ (2021) presents stones as sacred sites of ritual adorned with fruit and vegetables placed during a private ritual during the exhibition installation. Exhibited here for the first time since Tate began its 13-year custodianship of the work, the piece exists as an offering to the land and Calel’s ancestors. In the artist’s home, stories from dreams are shared amongst families over breakfast and are understood to foretell the energy for the day or task ahead. For Calel, dreams, art and spirituality are always interconnected and here, they have determined the specific produce which is on offer as thanks. Calel draws on ancestral knowledge from his Mayan Kaqchikel heritage, his work both a celebration of the traditions and spirituality of his community in Guatemala and an act of resistance in its presentation of ancestral practices. The work creates a space to acknowledge, honour, preserve and be in the presence of ancestral indigenous forms of knowledge. Showing at Tate Liverpool
Ru k’ox k’ob’el jun ojer etemab’el (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge) (2021)
Showing at Tate Liverpool
Monday to Sunday 10.00am-5:50pm