Luciano Calderon’s Ciudad Esperanza
On June 19, 2013, Ciudad Esperanza, Luciano Calderon’s 1 first solo exhibition in a museum 2 pre-opened at Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia 34 in El Alto 5, Bolivia 6.
The exhibition is a continuation of his recent exhibition, El Choco 78, in which Calderon’s hometown of El Alto and the neighboring city La Paz 9 played a central role.
Ciudad Esperanza includes both new large-scale works 10 alongside older pieces, both of which evoked strong positive feedback from the enthusiastic crowd at the pre-opening.
Collaboration with local craftsmen
As he did with El Choco, Calderon collaborated with local craftsmen of his neighborhood to produce some of his works for Ciudad Esperanza.
In Chismoso Como Tu, which translates to God sees everything but he ain’t a snitch like you, Calderon uses a common phrase to reflect on the mentality that prevails in the streets of El Alto, a city where almost everybody lives under harsh circumstances.
Calderon’s painting Escudo is inspired by El Alto’s official coat of arms. Using his own unique visual language, Calderon took the text from this coat of arms and transformed it into an art piece.
