The critic, José Hernán Aguilar, reveals a confrontation in the Colombian art world, whose interests square off around the definition of “contemporary art,” using it as a warhorse. The writer asserts that “conservative” critics, artists and projects are using arguments that are incoherent and reactionary (“with clear commercial connotations”). Their purpose, he states, is to defend the supremacy of certain powerful figures on the national art scene. This being the case, “while the avant-garde (innovation) was good once upon a time, it is no longer any good.” Critics such as Marta Traba and Germán Rubiano are falling into terminological confusion when they deem “avant-garde” approaches that may well be innovative in terms of iconography but retain “their gilded frame (or bird breast).” On the other hand, Aguilar believes the art critic, Eduardo Serrano, represents a bright light who, casting his lot with any work he finds “experimental and young,” has become “the ambassador of the experimental, presenting the boldest platform.” In spite of the overall blandness of the artistic approaches (with a few exceptions), Aguilar credits the VII Salón Atenas [Seventh Athens Salon] with offering a testimony to the times through works by the following artists: Jaime Gómez, Mónica Negret, Julián Posada, Pedro Ramos, Patricia Restrepo, María Rueda, Rosemberg Sandoval and Fabiola Sequera.

The article shows us the distinctions among three generations of art critics in Colombia: the Modernist, (Marta Traba), the critic dubbed the “transitional critic” (Eduardo Serrano) and the Post-Modern critic (José Hernán Aguilar). 

The text, “VII Salón Atenas: Problemas Políticos” [Seventh Athens Salon: Political Problems] was an early publication by the art critic, José Hernán Aguilar (b. 1952). When he returned to Colombia, in 1980, Aguilar began to publish articles in specialized journals such as Arte en Colombia Internacional [International Art in Colombia], Re-Vista del Arte y la Cultura en América Latina [A Second Look at Art and Architecture in Latin America] and Fotografía Contemporánea [Contemporary Photography]. His main interest was the study of contemporary art, which is why his closeness to the art critic, Eduardo Serrano (b. 1939) became evident in his early work as an art critic. By reading “VII Salón Atenas: Problemas Políticos” we can detect Aguilar’s position during that period, with the added value that it represents the only disagreement the critic ever had with the legendary intellectual, Marta Traba (1923–83). This text was a response to Traba’s article, “El VII Salón Atenas: ‘Ya que estamos’” [The Seventh Athens Salon: “Since we’re here, anyway…”] written because it so happened that she was visiting in Colombia on the day the exhibition opened (see “El VII Salón Atenas: ‘Ya que estamos’” [doc. No. 1104875]).