The importance of this text lies in its explanation of the changes in the painting done by the Colombian artist Danilo Dueñas (b. 1956) since its beginnings. There are two issues emphasized in the interview: one, characterization of the work as belonging within a specific trend, and two, an explanation of the underlying conceptual bases of the work. When characterizing the work, Dueñas emphatically states that his work is nourished by references to the contemporary world; likewise, by following this path, he tries to create inclusive painting that reflects not only the art world, but also daily life. Regarding its conceptual bases, Dueñas states that abstract painting should get over its self-involvement (such as art for art’s sake and self-referential work) in order to become a medium, rather than an end in itself. In his opinion, this is one way for painting to address the outside world; in this way, it could incorporate various real-life elements and objects.
The interview with García is significant, because for the first time, Dueñas states that his work is not restricted to a predetermined format, but is rather a process of artistic investigation related to the exhibition space, going beyond involvement with the body of the painting. The text is also important in its effort to conceptualize the installations presented in the exhibition that use the term “arquipintura” [architecturally influenced painting]. In this same regard, when the artist is questioned about his inclusion of figurative elements in his paintings, a discussion arises about the very nature of painting. Supposedly, all these works call upon abstraction as the basic problem [of art]. Dueñas justifies his actions by saying that a figurative element may be representational; therefore, he can include objects of this kind in his paintings without changing their nature as abstract works. The artist clarifies that he has chosen these elements for their formal rather than for their figurative qualities.