Erick Beltrn

Erick Beltrn

Ciudad de Mxico, Mxico, 1974.

Vive y trabaja en Barcelona, Espaa.

El trabajo de Erick Beltrn nace de una constante investigacin y reflexin

acerca de los mecanismos estructurales de los sistemas de pensamiento. Habla
especficamente de la relacin de poder que existe entre los procesos de edicin y
las construcciones de discurso. A partir de diagramas, recopilacin de informacin,
archivos o inserciones en medios de comunicacin, se acerca a la manera en que
se definen, valan, ordenan, clasifican, seleccionan, reproducen y distribuyen
imgenes para crear discursos polticos, econmicos y culturales en la sociedad
contempornea. De igual forma se interesa en cmo la figura de la edicin define
nuestro mundo y las relaciones de fuerzas entre diversos grupos de personas.

Por medio de un proceso de produccin orgnico y cambiante, Beltrn vuelca sus

cuestionamientos en la creacin, por un lado, de sistemas y diagramas que intentan
catalogar un universo determinado, y por otro, de colecciones de elementos
aparentemente aleatorios unidos por factores en comn. Como este ltimo es el
caso de obras como Calculum series, que se asemeja a un gabinete de curiosidades
que rene imgenes, textos y objetos que explican cosas encontradas por Beltrn.
En esta misma lnea est el libro de Nothing but the truth, resultado de la
compilacin de una serie de mentiras.
Erick Beltrn

Mexico City, Mexico, 1974.

Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.

Erick Beltrans work is a constant research and reflection upon the structural
mechanisms of systems, especially those regarding the power relations between the
editing process and the construction of the discourse. Through diagrams, information
compilations, archives and media inserts, he approaches to the way images are
defined, valued, ordered, classified, selected, reproduced, and distributed in
order to create political, economical and cultural discourses in contemporary
society. He also reflects upon how is it that the figure of the editor defines our
world as well as power relations among diverse groups of people.

Through a working process of organic evolution, Beltrn pours these concerns into
the creation of systems and diagrams as a way to catalogue a determined universe,
as well as into creating collections of seemingly random objects. This is the case
of the work Calculum Series: similar to a wunderkammer, different pieces found by
Beltrn in his journeys are presented as texts, images and objects. In the same
line of work is Nothing but the Truth book, which is the result of compiling a
series of lies.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales
2011
Instalacin | Installation
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)
(Inv# EB42)

Exhibited:
Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales, LABOR. Ciudad de
Mxico, Mxico. 2011.
ERICK BELTRN
Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales

Tomemos un juego de estrategia de dos personajes.

En la interpretacin de la lgica debida a Hintikka,
la verificacin de la verdad en una proposicin esta sujeta a un juego:
los dos personajes son por una parte el autor de la propuesta, por otra el mundo.
El autor de la proposicin intenta probar la veracidad de aquello que enuncia;
el mundo intenta falsear la proposicin.
Jacques Roubaud

Cmo hacer efectivas las jugadas en un juego?

Cmo se estableci esta situacin de contraposicin?
Qu pasa cuando al referirse a la vida, la metfora del juego ya no funciona?
Por qu una metfora no es suficiente?
Por qu y cmo se establece una discrepancia con la realidad?
Qu se hace cuando uno no est de acuerdo con ella?
Qu se hace cuando el rival no es sealable porque est difuso?
Cundo es este rival parte de tu ideologa?
Qu es lo que el mundo ha hecho para hacer que este poder sea uno no localizable y mvil?
Cmo evitar que el anlisis y las crticas de un sistema, no terminen por inmunizar
al sistema mismo?
Cmo se toma una posicin?
Qu es una postura?

LABOR se complace en presentar la exposicin individual de Erick Beltrn, Declaracin

de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales.

El trabajo de Erick Beltrn (Mxico, 1974) se debe entender como un proceso

acumulativo de ideas y el seguimiento de sus distintas direcciones o desdoblamientos
a lo largo de un cuerpo de trabajo. As pues, queda estipulado que los conceptos
de edicin estn siempre presentes.

Desde piezas como ERGO SUM (2006) -donde se busca respuesta a la pregunta Qu es
el discurso?- hasta El Mundo explicado (2008) -donde a travs de la confrontacin
con nuestra ignorancia de la naturaleza de las cosas ms banales de la vida diaria,
vislumbramos realidad nutrida solamente por teoras personales- pasando por Modelos
para la construccin de objetos (2010) -donde se propone, en funcin a la forma de
ensamblaje de los objetos, un anlisis de sistemas ideolgicos-, se deja entrever
el proceso de acumulacin y sntesis enciclopdica del pensamiento humano.

Para Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales, Beltrn

intenta mapear el territorio que abarcan las divergencias que un individuo tiene
con el mundo, as como las consecuencias de las contradicciones al tomar ciertas
posturas. La pieza presenta simultneamente algunos de los postulados bsicos del
artista como propuestas de accin.
Cules son los puntos donde el discurso se densifica a tal grado que es posible
visualizar ciertas luchas ideolgicas concretas?, Es posible enfrentarse a algo cuando
uno se reconoce en ello?. Ahora ms que nunca, cuando cualquier gesto es asimilable
por los mass media o cualquier signo se aplana sobre un bien, la figura del rival
no es unvoca (Estamos en todas partes!). Ya sea en un plano poltico o social, el
contrincante se manifiesta simultneamente con la misma identidad mutante a travs
de procesos lingsticos, histricos y de categorizacin de conceptos. Es por esto
que establecer discrepancias implica una propuesta ntegra y en ltima instancia una
postura de vida.

Presentar esta subjetividad con sus consecuencias ltimas es acercarnos al problema

de lo social, pues buscar el entendimiento sobre las fuerzas que controlan lo
pblico, es entender que somos ellas.

El jueves, 28 de julio a las 8 pm, Erick Beltrn dar una pltica sobre los temas
que explora en su obra y en esta exhibicin en particular.

El trabajo de Erick Beltrn se ha mostrado en el SMAK, Stedelijk Museum voor

Actuele Kunst. Gent, Blgica; Stedelijk Museum Bureau. msterdam, Holanda; en la
Bienal de Lyon, y en le Plateau. Pars, Francia, entre otros.

Su trabajo forma parte de colecciones como La Coleccin Jumex, Mxico; Museo

Nacional Reina Sofa, Espaa; Museo de Arte Contemporneo de Barcelona, Espaa;
Museo de Arte Contemporneo de Castilla y Len, MUSAC, Espaa; Biblioteque Nationale
de France, Francia; Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporneo, MUAC, Mxico;
Contemporary Art Center, Osaka, Japn; entre otros.
ERICK BELTRN
Declaration of War Against the World: Fundamental Postulates

Let us take a game of strategy between two subjects.

In the interpretation of logic according to Hintikka,
the verification of truth in a proposition is subject to a game:
the two subjects are, on the one hand, the authors of
the proposal, and on the other, the world.
The author of the proposition attempts to test the veracity of that
which he enunciates; the world attempts to falsify that proposition.
Jacques Roubaud

How do you make effective plays in a game?

How was this situation of opposition established?
What happens if, when referring to life, the metaphor of the game is no longer effective?
Why is metaphor not enough?
Why and how is a conflict established with reality?
What happens when you no longer agree with it?
What happens when the rival is no longer identifiable because he/she has become diffuse?
When does this rival form part of your ideology?
What has the world done to make it so that this power is non-localizable and mobile?
How to avoid making it so that the analysis and critiques of a system do not end
up immunizing the system itself?
How do you take a position?
What is a position?

LABOR is pleased to present Erick Beltrns individual exhibition, Declaration of

War Against the World: Fundamental Postulates.

The work of Erick Beltrn (Mexico, 1974) should be understood as an accumulative

process of ideas. There is an extension of his directions or divergences over the
course of a body of work. This means that the concept of edition is always present.

From works such as ERGO SUM (2006) to The World Explained (2008), or Models for
the Construction of Objects (2010), Erick Beltrn seeks an answer to the question,
What is discourse?. He explores our ignorance about the nature of every-day-life
objects as a way to expose a reality shored up by personal theories. The artist
proposes an analysis of an ideological system as a function of the forms created
through assemblages of objects.

For Declaration of War Against the World: Fundamental Postulates, Beltrn attempts
to map out the territory occupied by the individuals divergences with the world,
as well as the consequences that arise from these contradictions upon taking up
certain positions. The piece presents some of the basic postulates of the artist
as a call to action.
Are there moments where a discourse densifies in such a way that it is possible to
visualize the particular and concrete struggles against other ideological forms? Is
it possible to confront or oppose to something when you recognize yourself within it?
Now more than ever, when every gesture is assimilable by mass media or every sign
transforms into a marketable good, the figure of the rival is not univocal (we are
everywhere!). Whether on the political or social plane, the opponent manifests itself
simultaneously with the same mutant identity, through linguistic, historical processes
and through the ordering of concepts. This is why establishing discrepancies implies
an integral proposal and, ultimately, a position in life.

To present this subjective position and its final consequences is to approach the
problem of the social. To seek an understanding of the forces that control the
public, is to understand that we are them.

On Thursday, July 28th at 8 pm, Erick Beltrn will give a talk to elaborate on the
themes explored in his work and in this exhibition in particular.

The work of Erick Beltrn has been shown in the SMAK, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele
Kunst. Gent, Belgium; Stedelijk Museum Bureau. Amsterdam, The Netherlands; in la
Biennale de Lyon, and in le Plateau. Paris, France, among others.

His work forms part of the collections of: La Coleccin Jumex, Mexico; Museo Nacional
Reina Sofa, Spain; Museo de Arte Contemporneo de Barcelona, Spain; Museo de Arte
Contemporneo de Castilla y Len, MUSAC, Spain; Biblioteque Nationale de France,
France; Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporneo, MUAC, Mexico; Contemporary Art
Center, Osaka, Japan; among others.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Inexistencia de la Voluntad
2006-2011
Impresin sobre papel de algodn | Print on cotton paper
89.5 x 83.5 cm (35.24 x 32.87 inches)
Edition 1/6, 1 AP
(Inv# EB32)

Exhibited:
Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales, LABOR. Ciudad de
Mxico, Mxico. 2011.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Inexistencia de la voluntad
2006-2011
Para La Inexistencia de la Voluntad Beltrn intenta, por un lado, mapear el
territorio que abarcan las divergencias que un individuo tiene con el mundo;
por el otro, investiga las consecuencias de las contradicciones al tomar ciertas
posturas. La pieza presenta simultneamente algunos de los postulados bsicos del
artista a manera de propuestas de accin.

Cules son los puntos donde el discurso se densifica a tal grado que es posible
visualizar ciertas luchas ideolgicas concretas?, Es posible enfrentarse a algo
cuando uno se reconoce en ello?. Ahora ms que nunca, cuando cualquier gesto es
asimilable por los mass media o cualquier signo se aplana sobre un bien, la figura
del rival no es unvoca (Estamos en todas partes!). Ya sea en un plano poltico
o social, el contrincante se manifiesta simultneamente con la misma identidad
mutante a travs de procesos lingsticos, histricos y de categorizacin de
conceptos. Es por esto que establecer discrepancias implica una propuesta ntegra
y en ltima instancia una postura de vida.

For La Inexistencia de la Voluntad, Beltrn attempts to map out the territory

occupied by the individuals divergences with the world, as well as the consequences
that arise from these contradictions upon taking up certain positions. The piece
presents some of the basic postulates of the artist as a call to action.

Are there moments where a discourse densifies in such a way that it is possible to
visualize the particular and concrete struggles against other ideological forms? Is
it possible to confront or oppose to something when you recognize yourself within
it? Now more than ever, when every gesture is assimilable by mass media or every
sign transforms into a marketable good, the figure of the rival is not univocal
(we are everywhere!). Whether on the political or social plane, the opponent
manifests itself simultaneously with the same mutant identity, through linguistic,
historical processes and through the ordering of concepts. This is why establishing
discrepancies implies an integral proposal and, ultimately, a position in life.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Las Circunferencias del Yo
2011
Vinil autoadherible | Adhesive vinyl
350 cm dimetro (137.8 inches diameter)
Edition 1/5, 1 AP
(Inv# EB33)

Exhibited:
Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados fundamentales, LABOR. Ciudad de
Mxico, Mxico. 2011.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Las Circunferencias del Yo
2011
En esta pieza en forma de diagrama, Beltrn crea un mapa en el que considera la
mediacin del ego con respecto a diferentes niveles de abstraccin y nociones de
la colectividad. Mientras los anillos ms cercanos al centro del modelo representan
el yo ms ntimo y primitivo, los ms alejados de ste se abtraizan y complejizan.
El anillo perimetral es del yo entendido a travs del espacio de estructuras
acadmicas o construcciones epistemolgicas de comunidades histricas.

In this floor piece, Beltrn creates a map for considering the mediation of the
ego with respect to different levels of abstraction and notions of collectivity.
While the rings closer to the center of the diagram represent the more intimate
and primitive self, the farther ones talk about more abstract and complex levels
of mediation. The outermost ring is the self as understood through the space of
academic structures of epistemological constructions of historical communities.
Erick Beltrn & Jorge Satorre (drawings by Jorge Avia)
Modelling Standard
2010
57 dibujos en impresin xerogrfica sobre papel bond | 57 xerographic print drawings on bond paper
58 Drawings
50 x 35.43 inches each
Edition 1/25, 1
(Inv# B & S1)

*The individual prints that make up this installation were made from original drawings
by Jorge Avia. The original drawings are sold together as a single work entitled
Modelling Standard.

Exhibited:
FormContent, Gasworks, London, United Kingdom. 2010.
Casa Vecina, Mexico City, Mexico. 2010
LABOR, Mexico City, Mexico. 2011.
LISTE 16, Basel, Switzerland. 2011.
Modelling Standard
A project by Erick Beltrn & Jorge Satorre

In the late nineteen seventies microhistory was developed in Italy as a new

historiographic methodology. Its structure is anchored in three basic principles:
the reduction of the scale of analysis, the intensive exploitation of original
sources and the adoption of the explanatory exhibition model, commonly associated
to detective novels since it applies deductive methods through clues. Among the
most significant contributions of microhistory to the historiographic field are:
the interest in the subordinate social classes which forces the redefinition of
the historical analysis as a whole, imagination as a legitimate research tool, and
narrative as a guiding method.

Modelling Standard is based on our interest in the methodology of microhistorical

studies and could be seen as a personal attempt to achieve a never-ending critique
and transformation of the historical categories. The development of the project
was comprised of a period of research in which the origins of microhistorical
practice were discussed and analysed. Such cores as content of our researchs
index are: the epistemological turn carried out by the French Ecole des annales,
founded by Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch and developed later by Fernand Braudel and
others; the English local history studies of Leicester University; the appearance
of the term microhistory in the 1970s coined by Carlo Ginzburg, Edoardo Grendi
and Giovanni Levi; and more recently, Latin American reinterpretations of this
historical practice.

Key concepts to microhistory are here used as the strategy to reorganize and
reactivate seemingly disconnected elements that make reference to personal
experiences and popular culture. This was made into a visual diagram depicting a
series of questions based on personal subjectivity, but aiming to define concepts
framed within the general state of the real.

This methodology is not approached as a process of random decisions but as a

platform in which a large number of historiographic tools are used to explain a
complete scene. Among these devices we can highlight the moral imagination, the
indiciary paradigm, the reduction of study scale, and the anomaly case.

The use of diagrams allows us to reduce specific situations to models, as well

as to visualize the process of solving a dilemma. These diagrams act as our
translating machines to transport the historiographic and sociological realms into
the territory of artistic practice.

The process of creating the diagrams functioned as the script for the production
of the final piece and the exhibition. The idea is to create a series of models
from diverse materials through which we will present evidence of the connections
between diagrammed concepts and potential specific cases.
Since the project tries to think itself as a conscious process coming from
the deductions of the research, it is difficult to foresee the final outcome.
Nevertheless, the cohesive element of the project is writing the basic script
carried out by maps and projections -understood here as an extension of coordinates-
as the departure point.

The title of this project plays with the notion of the Standard Model, which is
the currently validated theory of fundamental particles and their interaction. It
reads that the attraction and repulsion between these minimum units of matter is
what makes possible the visibility of all the things in the universe.

One feature of this model important to us is that, even though it may seem perfect
according to mathematical calculation, it proves to be incomplete. The Standard
Model cannot explain why some particles exist as they do (e.g. why particles have
a certain mass). Physicists have theorised the existence of the so-called Higgs
field which, in theory, interacts with other particles to give them mass. The Higgs
field requires a particle called the Higgs boson, which unfortunatley has not been
observed in any experiment.

This model could work as a metaphor for the importance of looking at internal
dynamics in small scales at sociological and historical levels. Therefore, it
points to the consequences they entail in reconsidering the mechanics of a given
analysed system. Likewise, microhistory works by means of the recollection of
hints, like pieces of a puzzle, tirelessly looking for an ungraspable, complex
image or system.

Installation view: FormContent, Gasworks, London, United Kingdom. 2010.

Installation view: FormContent, Gasworks, London, United Kingdom. 2010.
Installation view: Casa Vecina, Mexico City. 2010.
Installation view: LISTE 16, Basel, Switzerland. 2011.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Strategy/Constrategy
2010
Figuras de cartn suajado, mesas y pizarrones | Die-cut cardboard figures, tables and
blackboards
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB 31)

Exhibited:
Philagrafika 2010. Philadelphia, 2010
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Strategy/Constrategy
2010
Una mesa de planeacin blica es presentada como un juego. Todos los personajes/
fichas son tomados de fotografas de peridicos. La audiencia tiene la posibilidad
de aadir ms personajes dependiendo de las noticias actuales. La obra se vuelve
un intento por diagramar la realidad social de nuestro subconsciente poltico. Las
predisposiciones a la interpretacin que tiene el participante, generarn batallas
internas reflejadas en infinitas imgenes de espejo.

A war-planning table is presented as a board game. All the characters are taken from
newspaperss photographs. The audience is able to add more characters depending
on the divergence of current events. The works becomes an attempt to diagram the
social reality or our political subconscious. The over imposing interpretations of
the participant, will create inner battles that reflect in endless mirror images.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Ostracismo
2009
500 copones de cermica horneada, molde, engobe y puntas de grabado | 500 ciboriums of
baken ceramic, mold, engobe and engraving needles
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB 1)

Exhibited:
Labor, LABOR, Ciudad de Mxico, 2009.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Ostracismo
2009
El nombre Ostracismo se deriva de la ostraka, y hace referencia a los fragmentos
de cermica rota que servan para votar en la Grecia Antigua. Estos restos de
material, abundante y casi gratuito, serva como una especie de papel de desecho.
Contrastaba con el papiro, que se importaba de Egipto y funga como superficie de
escritura de alta calidad.

Cada ao en una asamblea, a los representantes atenienses se les preguntaba si

deseaban aplicar un ostracismo. La pregunta se realizaba durante el sexto de los
diez meses que se usaban para el comercio de estado democrtico. Si se votaba
positivamente, el ostracismo se llevaba a cabo dos meses despus. En una zona
acordonada del gora, los ciudadanos raspaban en un trozo de cermica el nombre de
quien deseaban expulsar de la repblica y lo depositaban en urbas. Los oficiales
que presidan contaban las ostraka; si se alcanzaba un mnimo de seis mil votos,
entonces se llevaba a cabo el ostracismo: se separaban los distintos nombres en
pilas, y quien recibiera el mayor nmero de votos deba exiliarse por diez aos.

La persona nominada deba dejar la ciudad en diez das; si intentaba regresar, se

le castigaba con la muerte. Notablemente, las propiedades de la persona expulsada
no se confiscaban, ni l perda su estatus dentro de la escala social. Despus
de la dcada, podra regresar sin estigmas. Algunas veces, la asamblea llamaba de
vuelta a alguna persona ostraizada antes del cumplimiento de la condena.

En la pieza de Erick Beltrn se busca evidenciar que al ponerse un dispositivo de

esta naturaleza en manos de una comunidad, a pesar de sus pretensiones de articular
un sistema justo, es susceptible a diversos tipos de manipulacin.

The name Ostracism is derived from the word ostraka, referring to the potsherds
or pieces of broken pottery that were used as voting tokens in Ancient Greece.
Broken pottery, abundant and virtually free, served as a kind of scrap paper. It
contrasted with papyrus, which was imported from Egypt as a high-quality writing
surface, and therefore was too costly to be disposable.

Each year the Athenians were asked in the assembly whether they wished to hold
an ostracism. The question was put in the sixth of the ten months used for state
business under the democracy. If they voted yes, then an ostracism would be held
two months later. In a roped-off area of the Agora, the peoples representatives
scratched the name of a citizen they wished to expel form the Republic on potshards,
and deposited them in urns. The presiding officials counted the ostraka submitted;
if a minimum of six thousand votes were reached, then the ostracism took place:
the officials sorted the names into separate piles, and the person receiving the
highest number of votes was exiled for ten years.

The person nominated had ten days to leave the city; if he attempted to return, the
penalty was death. Notably, the property of the man on exile was not confiscated
and there was no loss of social status. After the ten years he was allowed to return
without stigma. It was possible for the assembly to recall an ostracized person
ahead of time.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Efecto Rashomon
2008-2009
Diapositivas, carteles, impresos| Slides, signs, impressions
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 16)

Erick Beltrn (1974)
Efecto Rashomon
2008-2009
El efecto Rashomon se refiere a los relatos de un mismo hecho desde diferentes
puntos de vista. Con esto en mente, el artista analiza las figuras de diversos
caudillos latinoamericanos, en la multiplicidad de versiones de su persona que se
generan en torno a ellos. A partir de esta investigacin se genera un archivo y la
posibilidad de contemplar el proceso de construccin de los materiales.

The Rashomon effects refers to the telling of a same story from various points
of view. With this in mind, the artist analyses different latinamerican leaders,
bringing forth the diverse versions of them that people keep in their memories.
From this research an open archive is constructed, as well as the possibility to
observe the process of constructing this materials.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Zeigarnik Effect (Del proyecto Tolv)
2008
Carteles | Posters
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 15)

Exhibited:
Malm Konsthall, Suecia, 2008. Proyecto Tolv (12)
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Zeigarnik Effect (Del proyecto Tolv)
2008
El efecto Zeigarnik se refiere a la idea de que se recuerda mejor un proceso
incompleto que uno que se ha terminado. Tomando al tiempo/duracin como un factor
clave en la relacin de la memoria y la expectativa, as como la teora del efecto
Zeingarnik, el artista forma pilas de carteles con texto impreso. En conjunto
presentan una frase de la que desaparecen palabras mientras ms carteles se lleve
la gente.

The Zeigarnik Effect refers to the idea that an incomplete process is remembered
better than a finished one. With this thought as a starting point, and with the
notions of length and time in minds, the artist stacks posters with printed text.
The stacks form a phrase that keeps losing words (and meaning) as people take more
and more of them.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Effet Avalanche (Efecto Avalancha | Avalanche effect)
2007
Instalacin e impresos | Installation and posters
Medidas variables dependiendo del tipo de instalacin (Variable dimensions depending on
the installation)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 14)

Exhibited:
Biennale de Lyon, 2007.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Effet Avalanche (Efecto Avalancha | Avalanche effect)
2007
A partir de la revisin del lenguaje de uso diario, el artista extrae las resonancias
racistas, actitudes negativas y muestras de poder sobre el otro. Estas frases se
convierten en lemas impresos sobre carteles que se colocan en soportes tomados
del mobiliario urbano. Estas declaraciones cotidianas provocan una especie de
cataclismo al confrontar al espectador con algo que sucede en el da a da, pero
que no tiene presente de forma consciente.

Starting with a revision of the day-to-day language, the artist extracts every
racist overtone, negative attitude or power structure sample. This sentences become
slogans, which are then printed on posters that are placed on urban structures.
These ordinary statements produce a cataclysm for confronting the spectator with
something that happens day to day but one is not aware of in a conscious way.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Rndete (Give up)
2006
Instalacin y 1500 carteles con instrucciones | Installation and 1500 posters with instructions
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)
1500 posters en offset 84 x 59 cm c/u (33.07 x 23.23 inches each)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 13)

Exhibited:
Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporneo
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Ergo Sum
2006
Instalacin y peridico | Installation and newspaper
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 12)

Exhibited:
Museo Experimental El Eco, Mexico City.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Ergo Sum
2006

En esta pieza, el artista rene imgenes, textos, diagramas, mapas y citas con la
idea de responder a la pregunta Qu es el discurso?. A partir de una investigacin
que incluye tanto una estructura acadmica como de libre asociacin, se despliega
un mapa mental en forma de un peridico de 320 pginas. ste desenvuelve poco a
poco pequeas situaciones en las que la bsqueda de una definicin, una identidad,
una historia o una regla, se vuelve crucial para la construccin discursiva.

In this piece, the artist gatheres a large number of images, texts, diagrams, maps
and quotes to try to answer the question What is discourse?. Starting with a
research that includes both an academic structure and a method free association,
a mental map is presented in the form of a 320-page newspaper. The publication
unwraps, little by little, situations where the search for definition, identity, a
story, or rule, becomes crucial for the discursive construction.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Hombre que corre (Running Man)
2004
Animacin y Flipbook | Animation and flipbook
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 11)

Exhibited:
Archivo Estocstico, Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueros; Ciudad de Mxico, Mexico.
Regarding Muybridge, ProjecteSD; Barcelona, Espaa.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Hombre que corre (Running Man)
2004

En una biblioteca se busca, en cada una de las hojas de todos los libros, a un
hombre que corre. El conjunto de imgenes se ordena para realizar una animacin y
un flip-book (1000 ejemplares), donde se revela la secuencia de su recorrido. Este
personaje puede adquirir cualquier tamao y forma y aparecer en cualquier libro
que se incorpore al acervo, lo que nos arroja una tarea infinita, igual que el
recorrido del hombre.

In a library, a running man has to be searched for in every page of every book.
The group of images is ordered to create an animation and a flipbook (1000 copies),
where the journey of the man is revealed. This character can assume any size and
shape and appear in any book that joins the collection, which leaves us with an
infinite task, as is infinite the journey of the man.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Todos saben (Everybody knows)
2004
Instalacin con dados y peridicos impresos | Die instalation and printed newspaper
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 10)

Exhibited:
Localismos; Circuito Cultural del Centro Histrico, Mexico City.
Subversiones Cotidianas; MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Todos saben (Everybody knows)
2004
Se cre un saln de juegos en el que los dados estaban diseados para no perder
nunca. Algunos de ellos estaban cargados con imanes o pesas; otros tenan el nmero
seis en todas sus caras, y otros ms, la palabra verdad en los seis lados. Se
public adems un pequeo peridico, con un tiraje de mil ejemplares, con imgenes
de los mercados ambulantes del centro de la ciudad de Mxico.

A gambling room was created where all the dice were designed never to lose. Some
dice were loaded with magnets or weights, some had the number six on all sides and
some the word Truth on each face. A small newspaper was published, one thousand
copies, with images of the informal market in downtown Mexico City.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Proyecto Terrassa
2004
Intervencin urbana | Urban intervention
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 9)

Exhibited:
Ayuntamiento de Terrassa, Barcelona.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Proyecto Terrassa
2004
A raz del seminario Billetes falsos, se desarrolla una propuesta en dos actos.
Es una campaa para recoger sueos que fueron plasmados en dos lugares pblicos de
la ciudad: unos pintados en blanco, de la misma manera que las seales de trfico
en algunos pasos de peatones; y otros insertados en un diario de la ciudad.

From the Billetes falsos seminar, a proposal is developed through two different
actions: it started with a campaign to gather dreams from people. These were shown
in two public spaces within the city: some were painted white on the streets, just
as traffic signals for pedestrians; and others were inserted in a local newspaper.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Punchdrunk
2005
Instalacin a muro y en cuatro mesas de trabajo | Wall and four work tables installation
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 8)

Exhibited:
Punchdrunk; S.M.A.K., Ambers, Belgium.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Punchdrunk
2005
Punchdrunk es un trmino del boxeo, que define el momento exacto anterior al
knockout. En este caso, se refiere al archivo visual de todas las imgenes
necesarias para el desarrollo del trabajo artstico de Beltrn entre los aos
2002 y 2005.

Estas imgenes se presentaron en el espacio de exposicin, tanto adheridas a la

pared como sobre cuatro mesas de trabajo -apiladas de mayor a menor-. Una escalera
estratgicamente colocada haca visibles las superficies de las mesas superiores,
pero nunca lo bastante para apreciar el detalle.

Punchdrunk is a term used in boxing to define the exact moment before knockout.
In this case, it referes to the visual archive of all the images required in the
formation of Beltrns artistic work during the 2002-2005 period.

These images were displayed in the exhibition room, both adhered to the walls
and on the surface of four worktables -piled larger to smaller-. A strategically
positioned ladder allowed the surfaces of the upper tables to be visible to the
spectator, but not so close as to see them in detail.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Analfabeta | Analphabet
2005
Pintura, fotografa, impresiones, textos, etc. | Paintings, photos, prints, texts, etc.
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 7)

Exhibited:
Analphabet; Stedelijk Museum Bureau (SMBA), Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Analfabeta | Analphabet
2005
Es una coleccin de trabajos acerca de la tipografa y sus discursos implcitos
hecha desde el ao 2000. El eje de esta investigacin analiza las representaciones
grficas de un lenguaje y cmo se usan para aplicar normas respecto al comportamiento
social en territorios religiosos, histricos y polticos. El proyecto se llev
a cabo en rabe en Siria (2000), en mandarn en Pekn (2002) y en cirlico en
Belgrado (2003). El resultado es una serie de diversas pinturas, fotografas,
textos y registros que confrontan al espectador que desconoce estos idiomas con
las diferentes situaciones sociales de cada caso.

This is a collection of works on typography and its implicit discourses, made since
the year 2000. The axis of this investigation analyzes the graphic representations
of a language and how they are used to apply norms of social behavior in religious,
historic and political territories. The project was carried out with Arabic in
Syria (2000), Mandarin in Beijing (2002) and Cyrillic in Belgrade (2003). The
result is a series of different paintings, photographs, prints, texts, and records
that confront the spectator, who doesnt know these languages, with the different
social situations in each place.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Menzogna (Mentira | Lie)
2004
9000 hojas impresas por los dos lados | 9000 sheets printed on both sides
50 x 70 cm cada hoja (19.69 x 27.56 inches each sheet)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 6)

Exhibited:
Producing Reality; Prometeo, Lucca, Italy.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Menzogna (Mentira | Lie)
2004

Las calles de Lucca, Italia, fueron invadidas con 9000 hojas impresas con la
palabra Menzogna (mentira). La impresin inversa del otro lado del cartel, permita
leer a contraluz.

The streets of Lucca, Italy were invaded with 9000 sheets printed on both sides
with the word Menzogna (Lie). On the back, the word was inverted and thus legible
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Hecho en Mxico / Made in China
2004
3 Fotografas | 3 Photographs
40 x 60 cm c/u (15.75 x 23.62 inches each)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 5)

Exhibited:
Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Artes (MUCA Roma), Mexico City.
Eindeloze Werken; Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, Netherlands.
Subversiones Cotidianas; MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Hecho en Mxico / Made in China
2004

Un milln de etiquetas doradas con la inscripcin Made in China invaden diversos

objetos. El mismo nmero de stickers, ahora blancas, que leen Hecho en Mxico
invaden el espacio de exposicin. Se hizo una serie fotogrfica para documentar
los objetos.

A million golden stickers with the inscription Made in China invade several
objects. The same number of white stickers with the inscription Hecho en Mxico
invade the exhibition space. A photographic series documenting the objects was
made.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Epitafios | Epitaphs
2003
Impresin de peridico e intervencin urbana | Newspaper publication and urban intervention.
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 3)
Exhibited:
Simposio de Arte Pblico; Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueiros, Mexico City.
Algut libres de artista; ProjecteSD, Barcelona, Spain, 2005.
Istmo, Arquivo Flexivel; Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2005.

Erick Beltrn (1974)

Epitafios | Epitaphs
2003

Se trata de una recopilacin de promesas polticas de campaas electorales hechas

entre 1900 y 2003. Una versin fue publicada como peridico y la otra como carteles
colocados ea lo largo de la Ciudad de Mxico.

The work is a compilation of political campaign promises in the 19002003 period.

One version was made as a newspaper and the other as posters that were placed
throughout Mexico City.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Nothing but the truth
2003
Instalacin e impresin de libro | Installation and book printing
Libro: 41.5 x 29 cm. 90 pginas (Book: 16.34 x 11.42 inches. 90 pages)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 3)
Exhibited:

Open Studios; Rijksakademie van Beelden Kunsten, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Punchdrunk; S.M.A.K., Ambers , Belgium (Libros y posters | books and posters).
Algut libres de artista; ProjecteSD, Barcelona, Spain, 2005 (libro | book).
Istmo, Arquivo Flexible; Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2005 (libro | book).
Malm Konsthalle, Sweden. (libro | book).

Erick Beltrn (1974)

Nothing but the truth
2003

Trata de la instalacin de un taller completo de serigrafa. Aqu, se les peda

a los visitantes que escribieran mentiras en una libreta. Estas lneas fueron
transcritas a una tipografa clsica, recopiladas e impresas en hojas sueltas como
parte de una publicacin que se reparta de forma gratuita a los participantes. Al
mismo tiempo, se hicieron carteles de gran formato que fueron cubriendo gradualmente
las paredes del taller. El resultado de este ejercicio fue Nothing but the Truth,
un libro que rene todas las mentiras escritas (100 copias autografiadas).

Is the installation of a complete silkscreen workshop. The participants were asked

to write lies in a notebook. These were captured and set in classic typography,
compiled and printed in single sheets as part of a publication that was freely
distributed to the visitors. At the same time, large format posters were made;
they gradually covered the walls of the workshop. The exercise resulted in the book
Nothing but the Truth (100 autographed copies), a compilation of lies.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Die Toten (Los muertos | The Dead)
2003
Globos con inscripcin | Labeled balloons
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 2)
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Die Toten (Los muertos | The Dead)
2003

Se trata de globos gigantes con la inscripcin Die Toten Manen Unds (Los muertos nos
apremian). ste es el epitafio de Rosa Luxemburgo, un referente para el socialismo del
siglo XX. La pintura empleada hace al globo ms frgil de lo usual: revienta cuando se
juega con l.

The work is about jumbo balloons labeled with the phrase, Die Toten Manen Unds (The Dead
Ones Prevent Us). This is the epitaph of Rose of Luxembourg, a referent of 20th century
socialism. The paint makes the balloon more fragile than normal: it pops if you play with
it.
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Peridicos | Newspapers
2000-2004
Peridicos intervenidos | Intervened newspapers
Medidas variables (Variable dimensions)

(Inv# EB Carpeta 1)
Exhibited:
Mon Monde/Presentation, February 2001
Se rendre a levidence; Centro Cultural de Mxico, Paris, France, 2001.
Merma Society of Northern Alberta Printers (SNAP), Edmonton, Canada, 2001.
El Noroeste ( in collaboration with Mariana Castillo Deball), August 22, 2001
Archivo Estocstico, Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueiros; Mexico City, 2002.

Volkskrant (in collaboration with Mariana Castillo Deball), March 12, 2002
Archivo Estocstico, Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueiros; Mexico City, 2002.
The Mythological Machine; Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Center, Coventry, U.K., 2004.
Subversiones Cotidianas; MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005.

Het Parool, November 15, 2002

Archivo Estocstico, Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueiros; Mexico City, 2002.
The Mythological Machine; Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Center, Coventry, U.K., 2004.
Subversiones Cotidianas; MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005

O Povo, December 18, 2002

Archivo Estocstico, Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueiros; Mexico City, 2002.
Bienal de Fortaleza, Museo de Arte Contemporneo de Cear; Fortaleza, Brazil, 2002.
The Mythological Machine; Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Center, Coventry, U.K., 2004.
Subversiones Cotidianas; MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005.

Punched Newspaper
Photographs, diaporama and punched newspaper.
Archivo Estocstico, Sala de Arte Pblico Siqueiros; Mexico City, 2002.
Punchdrunk; S.M.A.K., Ambers, Belgium, 2005 (newspaper).

Peridicos Negros, 2004-2005 (Black Newspapers)

The Mythological Machine; Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Center, Coventry, U. K., 2004
(project).
5 Bienal de MERCOSUL, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2005
Erick Beltrn (1974)
Peridicos | Newspapers
2000-2004
Mon Monde / Presentation, February 2001
A partir del diseo de conocidos peridicos franceses (Le Monde, Liberation) se crearon
peridicos con informacin personal. Se distribuyeron de forma limitada en locales selectos.
| Some personal newspapers were created using the layout of well-known French newspapers
(Le Monde, Liberation). Limited distribution at select locations.

El Noroeste (in collaboration with Mariana Castillo Deball), August 22, 2001
La edicin normal del peridico mexicano El Noroeste se public con una falsa primera
plana sobre la original. Esta segunda portada fue escrita con una tipografa formada por
las fotos de la original. Una explicacin del proyecto aparecin en la seccin cultural.
| The regular edition of Mexican newspaper El Noroeste appeared with a false front
page over the original. This second cover was written in typography made from the photos
on the original front page. An explanation of the project was published in the cultural
section.

Volkskrant (in collaboration with Mariana Castillo Deball), March 12, 2002
La plana central del peridico holands Volksrant muestra un catlogo de pequeos
smbolos a partir de primeras planas de este peridico. El tamao de cada cono depende
de la escala de importancia de un no-europeo residente en Holanda. | The center-page of
Dutch newspaper Volksrant shows a catalog of the papers front pages as small symbols.
The size of each icon depends on the scale of importance of a non-European resident in
Holland.

Het Parool, November 15, 2002

La primera plana de la edicin normal del peridico holands Het Parool apareci sin
la letra u, presentando espacios blancos en su lugar. En holands, la u quiere decir
t. | The front page of the regular edition of Dutch newspaper Het Parool appeared
without the letter u, a blank space instead. In Dutch the letter u means you.

O Povo, December 18, 2002

La edicin completa del peridico brasileo O Povo se public sin puntos ni comas;
su lugar fue ocupado por el pequeo smbolo de un hombre corriendo. Aproximadamente
5000 hombres escapando invadieron las 78 pginas del diario. | The complete edition of
Brazilian newspaper O Povo was published without dots or commas: their place was taken
by a small symbol of a running man. Approximately 5000 men running away invaded the diarys
78 pages.

Punched Newspaper
Peridicos del 2002 al 2003. Son Liberation (Paris), Volkskrant (Amsterdam), Het Parool
(Amsterdam) y Esto (Ciudad de Mxico) | Series of newspapers from 2002 to 2003. The
newspapers are: Liberation (Paris), Volkskrant (Amsterdam), Het Parool (Amsterdam), Esto
(Mexico).

Peridicos Negros, 2004-2005 (Black Newspapers)

La edicin regular de algunos peridicos se imprimi en negativo (negro sobre blanco -
blanco sobre negro) | The regular edition of some newspapers was printed in negative
(black on white white on black).

Erick Beltrn
Ciudad de Mxico, Mxico, 1974.
Vive y trabaja en Barcelona

Estudios + Residencias:
2011 Residencia Estudio extendido. Casa Vecina. Ciudad de Mxico.
Mxico

2010 Residencia Gasworks. Londres, Reino Unido.

Residencia Villa Arson. Niza, Francia.

2007 Residencia Couvent des Recollets, Pars, Francia.

2002 2004 Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten, msterdam,

Holanda

2001 2001 Residencia ENSAD. Pars, Francia.

Exhibiciones individuales:
2014 Report on the Construction of a Spaceship Module. New Museum.
Nueva York, Estados Unidos.
Atlas Eidolon. Museo Tamayo. Ciudad de Mxico
2013 Galeria Luisa Strina
2012 La Part Abyssale, Centre dArt Comtemporain Synagogue du
Delme, Metz, France.
2011 Declaracin de guerra contra el mundo: Postulados
fundamentales, LABOR. Ciudad de Mxico, Mxico.
2009 Double space, SpaceDoll. Laussane, Suiza.
2008 The Calculum Series, Joan Prats. Barcelona, Espaa.
Efecto Rashomon- Sndrome Bolivar, Matucana 100. Santiago de
Chile, Chile.
Tolv-Zeigarnik Effect, Malm Konsthall. Malm, Suecia.
2007 Universo en expansin, Galera Luis Strina. So Paulo,
Brasil.
Diagram Expansion, Tranzitdisplay. Praga, Repblica Checa.
El orden de las partculas, OMR, MACO. Ciudad de Mxico,
Mxico.
2006 Ergo Sum, Museo Experimental El Eco. Ciudad de Mxico,
Mxico.
2005 Enciclopedia, OMR. Ciudad de Mxico, Mxico.
Punchdrunk, SMAK, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst. Gent,
Blgica.
Analphabet, Stedelijk Museum Bureau. msterdam, Holanda.
2004 Rplica con Jorge Macchi, MUCA Roma. Ciudad de Mxico,
Mxico.

Exhibiciones colectivas (Seleccin de recientes):
2013 When Attitudes Became Forms Become Attitudes, Museum of
Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, Estados Unidos.
Disobedience Archive, Castello di Rivoli, Turn, Italia.
Coleccin: adquisicins e incorporacins recentes, El Centro
Galego de Arte Contempornea (CGAC) de Santiago de Compostela,
Espaa.
Bridges and Borders, Parque Cultural de Valparaso Valparaso,
Chile.
Wittgenstein Archive, Volt Gallerie / Wittgenstein Archives at
the University of Bergen, Bergen, Noruega.
2012 Coleccin, Macba, Barcelona, Espaa.
Taipei Bienal, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.
Qualandia International, The Jerusalem Show, Palestina.
When Attitude Becaeme Form Became Attitudes, CCA Wattis
Institute, San Francisco, California, Estados Unidos.
Cartografas contemporneas. Dibujando el pensamiento,
Fundacin La Caixa Forum, Barcelona, Espaa.
On Apology, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco, Estados Unidos.
Pobre artista rico, El valor esttico en transaccion, Casa de
Lago, Ciudad de Mxico. Mxico.
Resisting the present, Musee dart Moderne, Pars, Francia.
Anomalia, The UC San Diego University Art Gallery (UAG),San
Diego, California, Estados Unidos.
Aire de Lyon, Fundacin Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Atlas Critique, Parc St. Leger. Pougues-les-Eaux, Francia.
Ritual without Myth, Royal College of Art. Londres, Reino Unido.
Resisting the present, Musee dart Moderne. Pars, Francia.
Anomalia, The UC San Diego University Art Gallery. San Diego,
Estados Unidos.
Pobre artista rico, El valor esttico en transaccin, Casa de
Lago. Ciudad de Mxico, Mxico.
On Apology, CCA Wattis Institute. San Francisco, California,
Estados Unidos.
2011 Tiempo de sospecha, Museo de Arte Moderno,Ciudad de Mxico,
Mxico.
The Congress, Ecole Normal Superieure, Lyon, Francia.
Nos hicimos la ilusin de avanzar directamente, Caja Madrid,
Barcelona,Espaa. Narratives in Progress Center for Contemporary
Arts Celeia, Celje, Slovenia. Resisting the Present, Museo
Amparo, Puebla, Mxico.
Living As Form, Creativetime, Nueva York, Estados Unidos.
Neveroddoreven, Grimmuseum, Berln. Alemania.
Of Bridges & Borders - Fronteras en Mutacin, CCEBA - Centro
Cultural de Espaa en Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Itinerarios, Fundacin Botn, Santander, Espaa.
Basel, 2011, Galera Joan Prats, Suiza.
Imagen Y Texto En El Arte Latinoamericano,Centro de Arte
Contemporneo Wifredo Lam, Cuba. Songs of the Swamp, Kunsthalle
Exnergasse, Vienna, Austria.
A Terrible Beauty is Born, Biennale de Lyon. Lyon, Francia.


Erick Beltrn
Mexico City, Mexico, 1974.
Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.

Education + Residencies:
Estudio Extendido Residency, Casa Vecina. Mexico City, Mexico.
Gasworks Residency. London, United Kingdom.
Villa Arson Residency. Nice, France.
Couvent des Recollets Residency. Paris, France.
Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
ENSAD Residency. Paris, France.
Bachelor of Visual Arts in Escuela Nacional de Artes Plsticas,
UNAM. Mexico City, Mexico.

Solo exhibitions:

2014 Report on the Construction of a Spaceship Module. New Museum.

Nueva York, Estados Unidos.
Atlas Eidolon. Museo Tamayo. Ciudad de Mxico
2013 Galeria Luisa Strina
2012 La Part Abyssale, Centre dArt Comtemporain Synagogue du
Delme, Metz, France.
2011 Declaration of War Against the World: Fundamental Postulates,
LABOR. Mexico City, Mexico.
2009 Double space, SpaceDoll. Laussane, Switzerland.
2008 The Calculum Series, Joan Prats. Barcelona, Spain.
Efecto Rashomon- Sndrome Bolivar, Matucana 100. Santiago de
Chile, Chile.
Tolv-Zeigarnik Effect, Malm Konsthall. Malm, Sweden.
2007 Universo en expansin, Galera Luis Strina. So Paulo,
Brazil.
Diagram Expansion, Tranzitdisplay. Prague, Czech Republic.
El orden de las partculas, OMR, MACO. Mexico City, Mexico.
2006 Ergo Sum, Museo Experimental El Eco. Mexico City, Mexico.
2005 Enciclopedia, OMR. Mexico City, Mexico.
Punchdrunk, SMAK, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst. Gent,
Belgium.
Analphabet, Stedelijk Museum Bureau. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
2004 Rplica con Jorge Macchi, MUCA Roma. Mexico City, Mexico.

Group Exhibitions (Selection of recent ones):
2012 Coleccin, Macba, Barcelona, Spain.
Taipei Bienal, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.
Qualandia International, The Jerusalem Show, Palestina.
When Attitude Becaeme Form Became Attitudes, CCA Wattis
Institute, SanFrancisco, United States.
Cartografas contemporneas. Dibujando el pensamiento,
Fundacin La Caixa Forum, Barcelona, Spain.
Ritual without Myth, Royal Collegue of Art, London, United
Kingdom.
Atlas Critique, Parc St. Leger, Pougues-les-Eaux, France.
Pobre artista rico, El valor esttico en transaccion, Casa del
Lago, Mexico.
Resisting the present, Musee dart Moderne, Paris, France.
Anomalia, The UC San Diego University Art Gallery (UAG),United
States.
Aire de Lyon, Fundacin Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Pobre artista rico, El valor esttico en transaccin, Casa de
Lago. Mexico City, Mexico.
Resisting the present, Musee dart Moderne. Paris, France.
Ritual without Myth, Royal College of Art. London, England.
Aire de Lyon, Fundacin Proa. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
On Apology, CCA Wattis Institute. San Francisco, United States.
2011 Tiempo de sospecha, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico.
The Congress, Ecole Normal Superieure, Lyon, France.
Nos hicimos la ilusin de avanzar directamente, Caja Madrid,
Barcelona,Spain. Narratives in Progress Center for Contemporary
Arts Celeia, Celje, Slovenia. Resisting the Present, Museo
Amparo, Puebla, Mexico.
Living As Form, Creativetime, NY, United States.
Neveroddoreven, Grimmuseum, Berlin. Germany.
Of Bridges & Borders - Fronteras en Mutacin , CCEBA - Centro
Cultural de Espaa en Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Itinerarios, Fundacin Botn, Satander, Spain.
Basel, 2011, Galera Joan Prats, Switzerland.
Imagen Y Texto En El Arte Latinoamericano,Centro de Arte
Contemporneo Wifredo Lam, Cuba.
A Terrible Beauty is Born. Biennale de Lyon. Lyon, France.
Modelling Standard with Jorge Satorre, LISTE 16. Basel,
Switzerland.
Itinerarios 2009/2010. Botn Foundation. Santander, Spain.
Arco 2011, Joan Prats Gallery. Barcelona, Spain.
Songs of the Swamp, Kunsthalle Exnergasse. Viena, Austria.
2010 Modelling Standard con Jorge Satorre, Form&Content. London,
United Kingdom. Mexico City, Mexico.
Learning Machines, NABA. Milan, Italy.
Manifesta 8. Murcia, Spain.
Miami Basel, Luisa Strina Gallery. Miami, United States.
La fuerza de la palabra, Instituto Cultural Cabaas. Jalisco,
Mexico.
Smooth Structures, Smart Place. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Antes que nada, Centro dos de Mayo. Madrid, Spain.
Modelos para armar: pensar Latinoamrica desde la coleccin
Publicado el 25 de enero, 2009.
Edicin impresa.
Como un virus reflexivo y creador
Por Roberta Bosco

Mapas, fsica, mercado negro, azar, ingeniera, poltica y verdad. Son

palabras trazadas en blanco sobre fondo negro, que parecen correr una tras
otra, encontrndose, alejndose y multiplicndose en una pared de la galera
Joan Prats de Barcelona convertida en una enorme pizarra. Una especie de
gran grfico semntico conceptual sobre las reflexiones que han llevado el
artista mexicano Erick Beltrn (Ciudad de Mxico, 1974) a crear las obras
que forman la serie Calculum, expuestas hasta el 30 de enero. Cada pieza es
una miniinstalacin formada por un objeto, un texto y una imagen, que juntos
constituyen evidencias de una situacin problemtica con la que Beltrn se
ha topado en sus viajes.

Cada pieza es una miniinstalacin con un objeto, un texto y una imagen. Por
ejemplo, el pequeo e inquietante dado, tallado en un hueso humano, smbolo
del azar que gobierna la vida humana en la Colombia contempornea, tomada
por narcotraficantes y paramilitares. En el texto que lo acompaa, Beltrn
pide que los restos de personas desconocidas, fallecidas a consecuencia de
la violencia, sean declarados patrimonio cultural de Colombia y as sean
protegidos y estudiados, identificados y devueltos a sus familias.

Unas uas de Rasputin, que no se avergenza haber sustrado en una exposicin

en Londres (haba muchas, se disculpa), le sirven para hablar de reliquias
e iconos terrenales, mientras que la reproduccin perfecta de un sello de
Nueva Zelanda, que por un error de imprenta se convirti en una rareza muy
codiciada y cotizada, le permite reflexionar sobre qu hace que algo adquiera
o pierda valor, independientemente de su vala intrnseca.

Aunque Beltrn no oculta su fascinacin por los sistemas de clasificacin y

las estructuras que crean sentido, como diagramas, bibliotecas o colecciones,
ms que un archivo, la serie Calculum se parece a una wunderkammer, aquellos
cuartos de moda en el siglo XVII, donde aristcratas, viajeros y excntricos
reunan especmenes de pases exticos, obras de arte y hallazgos de inters
histrico o cientfico, con el nico fin de asombrar.

Considerado uno de los artistas mexicanos de mayor proyeccin internacional,

Beltrn articula su trabajo en una constante investigacin alrededor de los
mecanismos que estructuran los discursos polticos, econmicos y culturales
en la sociedad actual y los convierte en sistemas que intentan catalogar
el universo. Su voluntad de subvertir las formas de representacin de la
realidad, toma forma en la edicin y el reciclado de informacin. Sus obras
funcionan como un virus, que ingresa en sistemas establecidos de comunicacin
-por ejemplo, los peridicos o las vallas publicitarias- y los utiliza como
medio de reflexin y creacin.
Publicado el 26 de enero, 2009
Esos objetos que nos miran
Por Nizaia Cassian Yde

Sobre Serie Calculum. Calculum Series de Erick Beltrn en Galera Joan

Prats (Barcelona) NIZAIA CASSIAN YDE
Hasta el 30 de enero se presenta en la Galera Joan Prats la exposicin
Serie Calculum. Calculum Series de Erick Beltrn. El proyecto acoge objetos
de contextos y formas diversas que extrados del mundo para su exposicin,
recrean una suerte de gabinete de curiosidades, wunderkammer con la que el
artista sugiere una reflexin en torno a la idea de valor.
A lo largo de la exposicin encontramos piezas de pequeo formato en su
mayora compuestas por uno o dos objetos, una fotografa y un texto que cuenta
algn dato, ancdota o hecho histrico al respecto. Conforme el visitante
recorre la exposicin sale a su encuentro un hueso humano de Colombia, un
dado, las uas de Rasputin, sellos postales de Nueva Zelanda, un clavo, una
piedra de Sel. El recorrido incita cierto efecto de expectativa y seduccin;
el visitante va acercndose a cada vitrina para encontrar curiosidades-objeto
e historias que al ser ledas darn sentido, particularidad y cierto asombro
a cada obra. Estas piezas de orgenes diversos provocan una sensacin de
acumulacin de la Historia y el mundo (acontecimientos preservados en la
materialidad de un objeto, territorios lejanos que aqu confluyen).
El trabajo de Beltrn recuerda cierto amor benjaminiano por el acto de
coleccionar y de develar esas cosas que nos miran. En su Passagenwerk, Benjamin
construye una obra monumental en torno a la modernidad haciendo un collage
de citas, fragmentos, anuncios; para l los objetos son mucho ms que entes
de uso prctico, desde ellos es posible pensar lo humano, de los fragmentos
que se superponen surge un efecto sumamente potente de conjunto. En este
sentido podemos considerar la serie de pizarras con mapas de conceptos al
final de la exposicin. Beltrn va relacionando cada objeto de la exposicin
con una serie de conceptos y estos conceptos a su vez van tejindose con los
que corresponden a otros objetos. Contra cierta epistemologa positivista
de la clasificacin, la prediccin y de hecho, contra el clculo mismo-,
Beltrn lleva a cabo en estas pizarras una reflexin mucho ms cercana a
una epistemologa de la forma y de las proximidades (no de la prediccin
sino de la presentacin, dira Maffesoli), estos mapas son una condensacin-
dispersin, una invitacin al caos, algo seductor del pensamiento disgregante,
una voluntad de querer conectarlo todo, de manifestar en palabras y conceptos
una confabulacin de objetos.
Al salir de la exposicin aparece una duda sobre el nombre que se le ha
dado: Calculum. Vale la pena reflexionar cmo se explica esta decisin en la
hoja de sala: Calculus se traduce como piedra en latn (...) Los clculos
son especulaciones o proyecciones en funcin a una tendencia pero al mismo
tiempo confluencia de fuerzas y sedimentacin epistemologica. Si asumimos
que para calcular es por definicin necesario establecer equivalencias,
The World Explained
Published 27.06.2012
By Christel Vesters

Who were the first scientists? What is an android? How does plankton move? How
does a lightning rod function? These are just a couple of examples from the
long list of questions with which artist Erick Beltrn took to the streets of
Amsterdam to lay the groundwork for the third edition of his ambitious project
The World Explained.1 Accompanied by a group of young anthropologists Beltrn
set out to uncover the cultural patterns that determine the decisions and
actions of the average Amsterdam citizen. Armed with a recording device and
a questionnaire of over 800 questions, he and his team interviewed people on
a wide array of topics covering areas as diverse as biogenetics, economics,
physics, history and politics. Other questions required less specialised
knowledge and could not be answered in a straightforward manner; in fact,
they were the kind of questions to which all answers are equally valid and
true, like: what determines our preferences? When do we speak of freedom? How
are memories stored in the brain? Or: what is a feeling?
The multi-layered and long-term project The World Explained consists of three
different stages: interviewing and collecting testimonies and observations;
categorising these materials and editing them into encyclopaedia entries,
which are then illustrated, designed and printed in a live printing workshop;
and, in the final stage of the project, detecting connections or parallels
between the different entries to uncover the cultural patterns that lie
underneath. Ultimately The World Explained results in a publication that,
as its subtitle indicates, can be read as an INDEX OF PEOPLES CURRENT
UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD.
Personal Theories
As Beltrn explains in the manual introducing the project, the objective
of this anthropological-like pursuit is not so much to find right answers,
or absolute truths, but rather to invite people to reveal their personal
theories with which they explain the surrounding world. According to Beltrn,
in order to make sense of the context we live in, we navigate three different
areas of knowledge: learnt knowledge, experience and the unknown. Personal
theories emerge when we, confronted with a situation we cannot immediately
explain, start making our own connections. We tie various reference points
together in order to satisfy our need for things to make sense... People dont
reveal their personal theories easily, but they can be provoked by asking
them a set of questions that open up a field of tensions.2
The concept of personal theories is the foundation of the intricate
epistemological system that frames The World Explained. Beltrn uses his
theory, which not only explains the production of everyday knowledge but also
how personal interpretations make up social spheres and the belief systems
of a social group, to establish the importance of unspecialised knowledge.
Published in Spike 11=2007
Artists Favourites
By Francis Als

Erick Bltran beschftigt sich damit, wie Infor- mation in den Medien konstruiert
wird. Er ana- lysiert die Mechanismen von Bildauswahl, Bewertung,Klassifizier
ungundVerbreitungund untersucht die Machtverhltnisse zwischen Re- daktionen
und der Etablierung eines politischen, kulturellen und konomischen Diskurses,
um Bilder dann in eigenen Klassifzierungssystemen darzustellen; etwa in der
Arbeit Enciclopedia (2005), die diese Verknpfungen in einem Bild- diagramm
sichtbar macht. In seinem lang ange- legten Projekt ANALPHABET (seit 2001)
geht er von der Erfahrung aus, als Tourist Schriftzei- chen nicht lesen zu
knnen, also Analphabet zu sein. So sucht er deren Sinn dann nicht in ihrer
Bedeutung, sondern in ihren Formen.

Erick Bltran explores the construction of news in the print media. He

analyzes the mechanisms of image selection, evaluation, classification,
and distribution, and studies power relations between journalists and the
establishment of a political cul- tural and economic discourse, presenting
them in his own system of classification in the work Enci- clopedia (2005),
for example, which makes these linkages visible in a diagram. In his long-term
proj- ect ANALPHABET (since 2001) he takes as start- ing point the experience
of being tourist, some- one not able to read signs, who is illiterate. So he
looks for their meaning not in their significance, but in their shape. *1974
in Mexi-co City. Lebt in Amsterdam /*1974 in Mexico City, lives in Amsterdam.