The formation of investigation group Arte Naturaleza came about in 1996 due to the desire of four professionals to study, from the reference point of their respective disciplines - Archeology, Architecture and the Plastic Arts -, the experiences, projects, strategies, effects and results of human interventions on the natural environment in Colombia and throughout the world.

Among the activities carried out by this group since its creation, we will mention the following:

• Course for continuing study "Space of Geography in Art". Curricular Program of Plastic Arts. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin campus. 1997 – 1998.
  
  
• Registration in video of the work inherent to the theme of Environmental Art present in the "International Festival of Art - City of Medellin", carried out from the months of June to July in 1997.
  
  
• Conference given by the Venezuelan artist Ricardo Benaim on Environmental Art at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellín campus, in June of 1977.
  
  
• The academic construction and participation in the television program "La Vida", by COMFAMA, in the cycle of five spaces with a duration of a half an hour for each episode, titled Arte Naturaleza, for five Saturdays during the month of November, 1997.
  
  
• Chair of Investigation "Pedro Nel Gómez". Departament of Art, School of Architecture, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellín campus, 1997 – 1998.
  
  
• Participation in the program of the Museo de Arte Moderno - Medellín, "Art at just a click away" with funding provided by Empresas Públicas de Medellin. These three conferences were based on finds acquired from a course of investigation through the internet that were carried out with a direct connection to the net and projected in the theater of the Museum.

The subjects developed by the group are:

• Monumentality and Landscape in the Prehistoric World. Jairo Upegui. February 18th of 1998.
  
  
• Living Architecture in Nature. Patricia Gómez. March 18th of 1998.
  
  
• Contemporary Art and Nature. Eugenia Pérez y Hugo Zapata. November 25th of 1997.
  
  
• Conference, held at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellín campus, that was based on the theme "from the tree to the Savannah." March of 1997.
  
  
• Conference held in the Museo de Antioquia in the city of Medellin, as a parallel activity to the retrospective of the work by the artist Hugo Zapata "Option for Nature". May - June 1998, carried out by Hugo Zapata and Jairo Upegui. Published in the magazine supplement "Imaginario" of the newspaper "El Mundo" in its edition from Saturday the 13th of June, 1998.
  
  
• Conference carried out in the name of the group Arte Naturaleza by Hugo Zapata in the framework of the encounter of artists "Aragua Utópica" held in the village of Tasajera in the state of Aragua, Venezuela. This event was proposed to be a first encounter for reflection and revision both theoretically and practically regarding the relation of Human - Nature - Art. This encounter was carried out in the month of July, 1998, and was funded by Wanadi and Espacios Alternativos and Asociación Civil Expresión Libre de Arte Gladis Pirela.
  
  
• Arte Naturaleza Workshop. Young artists from the city of Lima, Peru worked with Hugo Zapata in October of 1999. Invited by II International Biennial of Art. Lima, Peru.

This group was initially financed by Cindec (Comite de Investigación y Desarollo Cientifica) from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellin campus, with the objective of creating academic support in the program of Plastic Arts in the School of Architecture of the same university. Additionally, we have received support from Empresas Públicas de Medellín, the Museo de Arte Moderno - Medellín, the Cooperativa Familiar de Antioquia (COMFAMA).


In 1998 the Ministry of Culture of Colombia granted us an exchange of labor with the proposal of creating a web space in which we include the considerations of the members of the group that we believe to be pertinent to this dialogue that has been established of the Human with Nature throughout history in Art.

If it is true that the proposal presents plastic manifestations of diverse types that relate to our objective from the international field, there also exists a particular interest in understanding, by way of the powerful tool of communication, the supports to this subject from the past and present that have been realized in Colombia.

The following persons constitute the group Arte Naturaleza: Hugo Zapata Hurtado, Architect, Sculptor and Master in Plastic Arts, Patricia Gómez Jaramillo Architect, Artist and Art Critic, Eugenia Pérez Arango Artist and Master in Plastic Arts and Jairo Upegui Montoya Anthropologist.

HUGO ZAPATA HURTADO

1945. La Tebaida Quindío, Colombia.
1963 – 66 Plastic Art. Universidad de Antioquia. Colombia.
1972 Architect. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Medellin.
Since 1975, he has participated in both individual and collective exhibition. He has represented Colombia in the Biennial of Havana, the Biennial "The Clay of America", Caracas, Venezuela, the Biennial of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Biennial of Lima, Perú. He has participated in exhibitions in Medellin, Bogota, Miami, New York, Charlotte, U.S.A, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, London and Brussels.
1967 – 2000 Associate Professor. Founder of the Plastic Arts Program at Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellín campus.

EUGENIA PEREZ ARANGO

1951 Medellin, Colombia.
1983 Master in Arts. Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellín campus.
Since 1979, she has participated in both individual and collective exhibitions in Medellin, Bogota and Manizales. She has worked in instruction at the Universidad de Antioquia, Biblioteca Publica Piloto - Medellin, Museo de Arte Moderno - Medellín and presently is Associate Professor at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín campus. She has belonged to the advising committees of the Museo de Arte Moderno - Medellin, Museo de Antioquia and the Instituto Colombiano de Cultura.

PATRICIA GOMEZ JARAMILLO

1951 Medellin, Colombia
1976 Architect. Architectural Association, London
Since 1979, she has participated in both individual and collective exhibitions as a member of the group UTOPIA, that has works of public art in Medellin. She writes regularly for exhibition catalogs and has collaborated with the magazine Proa from Bogota, the magazine Summa from Buenos Aires, the Re-vista de Arte y Arquitectura de Medellín, amongst others.
She is an associate of the firm Caycedo y Gómez Arquitectos Ltda. This firm has developed more than fifty projects domestic houses, buildings, urbanizations and urban design. Her work as an artist has been presented in national and international events.
She has worked as an instructor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana of Medellín and the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota.

JAIRO UPEGUI MONTOYA

1952 Medellín, Colombia
1979 Anthropologist, Universidad de Antioquia.
With professor Luis Fernando Vélez, he published the book "Cerámica Alzate". Curator of numerous exhibitions of Colombian Art and Archeology.
Section Chief of Anthropology of the Museo Universitario, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin. Collaborator in diverse publications on Art. Recipient of the Instituto Colombiano de Cultura Grant for "Tradition of Filigree in Colombia". Writer for the Archeology Section for the new Museo de Antioquía. He has been an instructor at the Universidad de Antioquía, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Medellin campus.

Beginning | Presentation | The Group

Investigation Group Arte Naturaleza
Grant from the Ministry of Culture of Colombia
Email: artenaturaleza@hotmail.com
http://www.artenaturaleza.org.co