This text by Carolina Ponce de León discusses the flurry of exhibitions on the topic of Latin American art that took place in the early nineties in the United States and Europe on the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the “discovery” of America (the meeting of two worlds). Ponce de León problematizes the categories applied to art from the region, categories which, because of the prejudices of hegemonic central countries, exclude a great deal of production. As examples, she cites some Colombian artists—specifically María Fernanda Cardoso and Doris Salcedo—who appeared eager to uphold the cultural stereotype of “origin” established in those central countries as they successfully ventured into the international market. Ponce de León also discusses works that formulate a more neutral approach to an artist’s origin, mentioning specifically Carlos Salazar and Jaime Franco. In the author’s view, simplifying cultural complexity with notions of “what is expected” is one symptom of the paternalism characteristic of attempts to understand artistic practices from the region; this approach fails to heed the transformations produced by the interaction between cultures.

This text was written two years after the series of exhibitions Ante América (1992)—curated by Gerardo Mosquera, Rachel Weiss, and Carolina Ponce de León—was held at the Banco de la República (Bogotá). Formulated as a commemoration of the five hundredth anniversary of the meeting of two worlds (1492–1992), this event formed part of the “flurry of exhibitions” on the topic of Latin American art held in different continents. This show specifically reflected on how art produced in Latin America was viewed; it called for a rethinking of the categories and concepts used to define art from the region, emphasizing the need to establish dialogue between the south and the north. The assertion that “being the other goes out of style” was integral to a discussion on what art from Latin America “was expected to be.” For years, critical stances of the sort formulated by this exhibition questioned the paternalism of central countries as they named, defined, and generated ideas on artistic practices from the region. 

Colombian critic and curator Carolina Ponce de León (born 1957) was an influential figure in Colombian art starting in the mid-eighties. She was the director of the art department of the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango (Bogotá) and a regular contributor to a number of Colombian newspapers (among them El Tiempo and El Espectador). At the Nuevos Nombres program, she was active in creating exhibition venues for young artists. She furthered dialogue between Colombia and the rest of the region. Since 1994, she has lived and worked in the United States, first as a curator at El Museo del Barrio (New York, NY) and currently at Galería de la Raza (San Francisco, California).