Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

In this response to Fernando de Szyszlo, well-known critic Sebastián Salazar Bondy points out how dynamic the Peruvian art scene is; against all odds, “there are people working tirelessly, with no pointless nostalgia as they undertake the creation [...]

In his remarks on the series of paintings Apu Inca Atawallpaman inspired by the colonial-era Quechua poem of the same name, Sebastián Salazar Bondy rejects criticism that “sets out to speak FROM painting” and, thus, marginalizes theme. He argues [...]

Well-known writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy states that, as in the case of Sérvulo Gutiérrez, there are lives and works “that stimulate debate, that appear destined to be fought over even after they have come to an end.” Regardless of the [...]

This text is writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy’s response to the criticism of artistic nationalism voiced by Luis Miró Quesada Garland in El Comercio newspaper (Lima, September 25, 1955) [see in the ICAA digital archive “En blanca y negra” (doc [...]

Here, the writer sketches the artistic development reflected in the work of Alfredo Ruiz Rosas through the five years covered by the exhibition in the Peruvian capital. Bondy acknowledges the persistence of  “the same emotion” in the artist’s [...]

In his comments, Sebastián Salazar Bondy praises the early accomplishments of the painter Sigfrido Laske, especially given the local milieu, “where art training is not as comprehensive as desirable.” His evidence of the artist’s talent is [...]

Peruvian writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy sent this open letter to his fellow members of the Agrupación Espacio—a group of modern architects, artists, and writers based in Lima—from Buenos Aires. Salazar Bondy asserts that both art and thought [...]

In this review “Juan Eye” (the pseudonym used by the writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy) discusses the José Sabogal exhibition at the SAP (Sociedad de Arquitectos del Perú, Lima). The author states that Sabogal deserves to be acknowledged in the [...]

This text is a transcription of the speech given by writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy at the first convention organized by the Asociación Nacional de Escritores y Artistas (ANEA); the event was held in Lima in September 1955. In Salazar Bondy’s view [...]

This text is Sebastián Salazar Bondy’s response to the criticism of artistic nationalism voiced by architect Luis Miró Quesada Garland in El Comercio newspaper (Lima, September 18, 1955) [see in the ICAA digital archive “En blanca y negra” ( [...]

In this text, Peruvian writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy comments on the exhibition of Surrealist painting held at the Galería de Lima in July 1954. In Salazar Bondy’s view, Surrealism played a fundamental role in forming the language of modern art [...]

In this text, Sebastián Salazar Bondy reflects on what he views as the unquestionable ties between an artist and his country. For the author, a sense of uprootedness, rather than physical distance, is what causes the artist to become disengaged from [...]

This text is essayist Sebastián Salazar Bondy’s response to the ironic comments that architect Luis Miró Quesada Garland published in “En blanca y negra,” his column in the Lima-based newspaper El Comercio, on July 25, 1954. In his text, Mir [...]

In this article, Sebastián Salazar Bondy discusses the work of Chilean painter Roberto Matta. In Salazar Bondy’s view, true art does not copy the appearance of “everyday vulgarity,” but questions conventions. That is why the run-of-the-mill [...]

In this text, Sebastián Salazar Bondy argues that the post-romantic generation, which was held in high regard at the time, is not essential to Peruvian art history because it is anachronistic; such art has neglected its “true” national and [...]

This text is the second of three parts of the essay “Cómo la pintura ha buscado al Perú” written by Sebastián Salazar Bondy. The text was not intended to be “an aesthetic theory,” but rather “a sociological interrogation” geared [...]

This text is the first of three parts of the essay “Cómo la pintura ha buscado al Perú” written by Sebastián Salazar Bondy. The text was not intended to be “an aesthetic theory,” but rather “a sociological interrogation” geared towards [...]

Last of the two articles by Sebastián Salazar Bondy, published under the pseudyonym “Juan Eye,” on the Mexican art exhibition organized by La Crónica newspaper. For the author, if Mexican painting has “laid the foundations for its own school [...]

This is the first of two articles by Sebastián Salazar Bondy, published under the pseudonym “Juan Eye,” on the Mexican art exhibition organized in Lima by La Crónica newspaper. The author believes the show is exceptional for its positive [...]

This text is writer Sebastián Salazar Bondy’s response to the article by Brazilian art critic Marc Bercowitz published in El Comercio newspaper (Lima, December 11, 1955). In Salazar Bondy’s view, Bercowitz’s questioning of the Lima press and [...]

Though no fan of abstraction, Sebastián Salazar Bondy applauds the initiative shown by the I Salón de Arte Abstracto (Lima, January 1958) in acknowledging the important role played by non-figurative movements in the contemporary world. In his [...]

To Sebastián Salazar Bondy, as part of his public defense of socially committed art versus abstract artwork, in judging a painting, we must consider its dimensions as well as its quality and aesthetic value. Regarding the mural option chosen by some [...]

For the author, the circumstantial dominance of abstract painting at the III Salón Moncloa does not imply the true primacy of that trend within Peru’s painting [scene], although it does reveal how this trend has become (for young artists) an “ [...]

According to the author, the works by Jean Dewasne shown at the Galería de Lima are representative of a kind of formalist art that is impressive because of its clarity and precision, over and above arguments that deceitfully attempt to place it [...]

Continuing the debate on abstract art, Sebastián Salazar Bondy insists that painting should be “beautiful,” but should also be necessary (and not just “useful”). He states that beauty itself can only exist if it is inspired by “a real, [...]

The author of this article, Sebastián Salazar Bondy, underscores his supposed agreement with Luis Miró Quesada as regards the “poor quality” of the exhibition of works by contemporary Italian painters at the Galería Lima, an event that [...]

Sebastián Salazar Bondy replies emphatically to the article in which Luis Miró Quesada extolls the virtues of architects as champions of abstract art. Salazar Bondy suggests that painting becomes unnecessary when it eliminates any reference to “ [...]

In his review of the exhibition in Lima of works by contemporary Italian painters, Sebastián Salazar Bondy criticizes the abstract style as being “pure decoration.” In his opinion, Abstract painting cannot presume to be an important, [...]