Oscar Santillán
b. 1980, Milagro, Ecuador.
Lives and works between Ecuador and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
IMAGES CV
b. 1980, Milagro, Ecuador.
Lives and works between Ecuador and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
IMAGES CV
Oscar Santillán is interested in connecting distant points: the sweat of a person with the beat of drums, paper made out of a medicinal tree with Nietzsche’s typewriter, or bringing together the breeze displaced by a running jaguar and a marble container.
Santillán began as a self-taught artist within the environment of Lalimpia, a collective he co-founded with other artists of his generation. After following different studies in Ecuador, a fellowship allowed him to pursue and obtain an MFA in Sculpture at VCU—Virginia Commonwealth University, US. He is an advisor at De Ateliers, Amsterdam (NL), a lecturer at St Joost, Breda (NL), and a visiting professor at Espol, Guayaquil (EC).
His recent practice is rooted in the multidisciplinary project ‘Antimundo’, an ongoing series of paintings, drawings and sculptures which envision connections between Andean forms of indigenous knowledge and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and 3D modelling, to explore what lies beyond the known and prescriptive Western worldview.
Santillán’s work has been exhibited at institutions internationally, including: CAC, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Quito (solo, Ecuador, current); LACMA, Los Angeles (USA); Guggenheim Bilbao (Spain); The Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D, Portland (USA); Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung (Taiwan); Macalline Art Centre, Beijing (China); MUAC, Mexico City (Mexico); Frac Île-de-France, Le Chateau (France); IMMA—Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (Ireland); Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (Netherlands); Delfina Foundation (UK); BPA/Raum, Berlin (Germany); Garage Rotterdam (Netherlands); RADIUS, Delft (Netherlands); Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City (Mexico); NRW FORUM, Düsseldorf (Germany); SongEun Art Space, Seoul (South Koreea); Zadkine Museum, Paris (France); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (Poland); Miettinen Collection, Berlin (Germany, 2025); Philara Collection (Germany); Rochechouart Musée d’art contemporain, Rochechouart (France); Album Arte, Rome (Italy); STUK, Leuven (Belgium); Trienal Poligráfica, San Juan (Peurto Rico); Castlefield Gallery, Manchester (UK); National Dutch Dance Festival, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (Netherlands); Oud-Rekem Castle, Rekem (Belgium).
Santillán has been commissioned for projects by the Diriyah Biennale, Jeddah (upcoming); Yokohama Triennial (Japan); Ballroom Marfa (USA); Bienal de Arte Paiz (Guatemala); Laboratorio de Arte Alameda (Mexico); and the Eli and Edithe Broad Museum (USA).
Residencies include Jan van Eyck (Netherlands); Delfina Foundation (UK); Fondazione Ratti (Italy); Skowhegan (USA); Seven Below (USA); Leiden Astronomical Observatory (Netherlands). He is currently working with the HoltSmithson Foundation’s The Island Project: Point of Departure alongside Tacita Dean, Renée Green, Sky Hopinka, Joan Jonas (between 2021 and 2026).
His work is part of international public collections, includng: Jumex, Mexico City (Mexico); LACMA, Los Angeles, California (US); CIFO, Miami, Florida (US); Centraal Museum, Utrecht (Netherlands); FRAC Ile-de-France, Paris (France); Adrastus (Spain/Mexico); Museum Voorlinden (Wassenaar, NL); Fries Museum, Leeuwarden (Netherlands); Otazu (Pamplona, Spain); Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City (Mexico); Teylers Museum, Haarlem (Netherlands).
For his most recent solo exhibition with the gallery please click here.
For his most recent group exhibition with the gallery please click here.
Santillán began as a self-taught artist within the environment of Lalimpia, a collective he co-founded with other artists of his generation. After following different studies in Ecuador, a fellowship allowed him to pursue and obtain an MFA in Sculpture at VCU—Virginia Commonwealth University, US. He is an advisor at De Ateliers, Amsterdam (NL), a lecturer at St Joost, Breda (NL), and a visiting professor at Espol, Guayaquil (EC).
His recent practice is rooted in the multidisciplinary project ‘Antimundo’, an ongoing series of paintings, drawings and sculptures which envision connections between Andean forms of indigenous knowledge and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and 3D modelling, to explore what lies beyond the known and prescriptive Western worldview.
Santillán’s work has been exhibited at institutions internationally, including: CAC, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Quito (solo, Ecuador, current); LACMA, Los Angeles (USA); Guggenheim Bilbao (Spain); The Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D, Portland (USA); Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung (Taiwan); Macalline Art Centre, Beijing (China); MUAC, Mexico City (Mexico); Frac Île-de-France, Le Chateau (France); IMMA—Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (Ireland); Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (Netherlands); Delfina Foundation (UK); BPA/Raum, Berlin (Germany); Garage Rotterdam (Netherlands); RADIUS, Delft (Netherlands); Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City (Mexico); NRW FORUM, Düsseldorf (Germany); SongEun Art Space, Seoul (South Koreea); Zadkine Museum, Paris (France); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (Poland); Miettinen Collection, Berlin (Germany, 2025); Philara Collection (Germany); Rochechouart Musée d’art contemporain, Rochechouart (France); Album Arte, Rome (Italy); STUK, Leuven (Belgium); Trienal Poligráfica, San Juan (Peurto Rico); Castlefield Gallery, Manchester (UK); National Dutch Dance Festival, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (Netherlands); Oud-Rekem Castle, Rekem (Belgium).
Santillán has been commissioned for projects by the Diriyah Biennale, Jeddah (upcoming); Yokohama Triennial (Japan); Ballroom Marfa (USA); Bienal de Arte Paiz (Guatemala); Laboratorio de Arte Alameda (Mexico); and the Eli and Edithe Broad Museum (USA).
Residencies include Jan van Eyck (Netherlands); Delfina Foundation (UK); Fondazione Ratti (Italy); Skowhegan (USA); Seven Below (USA); Leiden Astronomical Observatory (Netherlands). He is currently working with the HoltSmithson Foundation’s The Island Project: Point of Departure alongside Tacita Dean, Renée Green, Sky Hopinka, Joan Jonas (between 2021 and 2026).
His work is part of international public collections, includng: Jumex, Mexico City (Mexico); LACMA, Los Angeles, California (US); CIFO, Miami, Florida (US); Centraal Museum, Utrecht (Netherlands); FRAC Ile-de-France, Paris (France); Adrastus (Spain/Mexico); Museum Voorlinden (Wassenaar, NL); Fries Museum, Leeuwarden (Netherlands); Otazu (Pamplona, Spain); Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City (Mexico); Teylers Museum, Haarlem (Netherlands).
For his most recent solo exhibition with the gallery please click here.
For his most recent group exhibition with the gallery please click here.
Installation view of Oscar Santillán's solo exhibition 'A Heavy Halo', RADIUS, Netherlands, 2023.
1'111,111, 2023. Nike sneakers artificially aged up to a million years (7 pieces). Installation view of Oscar Santillán's solo exhibition 'A Heavy Halo', RADIUS, Netherlands, 2023.
Installation view of 'The Andean Information Age', solo exhibition at Copperfield, London, 2024.
S T E L A E, 2024. SLA resin, metallized paint, volcanic stone, stainless steel. 59.5 x 45.5 x 10 cm.
Installation view of 'Elemental Constellations' at Macalline Art Centre, Beijing, 2023.
Antimundo 00G, 2022. Oil on canvas, 120 x 85 cm.
Astronaut Cut, 2018. Performance recorded on video. Video (8’34”, 4K, colour, audio stereo).
Forecast, 2021. Device with colonial plants and apocalyptic movies, 118 x 76 x 81 cm. Installation view at Fondazione Ratti, Italy.
After Afterlife, 2019. Bread and Meteorites, Dimensions variable.
Chewing Gum Codex. Installation view at the Yokohama Triennial 2020, curated by Raqs Media Collective.
La noche, 2018. The moonlight’s weight. Lunar stone, customized metal box.
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Sué se siente ser Tierra, EACHEVE Foundation, Guayaquil, Ecuador (upcoming) Sué se siente ser Tierra, CAC - Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Quito, Ecuador, curated by Sara Garzón and Aaron Cezar (current) Non (NuevosÓrganos Naturales), Livia Benavides, Lima, Peru 2024 The Andean Information Age, Copperfield, London, UK 2023 ZONDA, LLANO, Mexico City, Mexico A Heavy Halo, RADIUS, Delft, The Netherlands 2021 A Breathing Mountain, Galleria Tiziana Di Caro, Napoli, Italy Shadows Travel at The Speed of Light, La Borie, Paris, France 2020 80m2, Livia Benavides gallery, Lima, Peru 2019 13.0.0.0.0, PARQUE Galería, Ciudad de México, Mexico 2018 Oscurana, Château La Borie, Solignac, France 2017 Mácula, MUAC; Mexico City, Mexico Una Cierta Edad del Mundo, Galerie Mazzoli, Berlin, Germany Asterism, Martin van Zomeren, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2016 Zaratán, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Codex, Metales Pesados. Santiago de Chile, Chile 2015 The Messenger, Spazio Calderara, Milan, Italy To Break A Silence Into Smaller Silences, Copperfield, London, UK 2013 On Hesitation Marks, Kunstraum, Munich, Germany 2012 Lucerna, Fundación ODEON, Bogota, Colombia Group Exhibitions 2026 Interludes and Transitions (في الحِلّ والترحال), Diriyah Biennale, Jeddah (upcoming) Artes de la Tierra, Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain (current) Plants and Planets, Astronomical Observatory, Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands (current) 2025 Plants and Planets, Astronomical Observatory, Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands (current) Artes de la Tierra, Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain (current) AFTERIMAGE, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, UK Textile Biennale 25 - Verweven Toekomsten, Rijkswijk Museum, Netherlands In Anderen Handen, Sammlung Philara x Miettinen Collection, Berlin, Germany Monumental Shadows, Nadine Nunca Nada No, Madrid, Spain Ghosts of Futures Past, Garage Rotterdam, Netherlands 2024 Tiempo de Siembra, BPA//Raum, Berlin, Germany Taken Apart & Put Back Together Again, A Tale of a Tub, Rotterdam, Netherlands Life of Plants, VU Art Science Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands 99 Questions Gathering, Humboldt Forum, Berlin, Germany The Mountain Algorithms, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 2023 Elemental Constellations, Macalline Art Centre, Beijing, China Liveable Worlds, The Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D, Portland, Maine, USA KaplanKaplan, Copperfield, London, UK Material Art Fair, Llano Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico 2021 Flash Point, Ponce+Robles, Madrid, Spain 2020 Burning Glass, Reading Stone, Blackwood Gallery, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada La Metafora Dell'Arciere, Galleria Tiziana Di Caro, Naples, Italy (This) Precious Stone Set in the Silver Sea, Copperfield, London, UK 2019 Körperwende, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Germany Chronos Cosmos: Deep Time, Open Space, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, New York, USA Power Play, Korean Cultural Center UK, London, UK Power Play, Delfina Foundation, London, UK 2018 Stage of Being, Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands The Ground Beneath Your Feet, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK Delfina in SongEun: Power play, Delfina Foundation, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea Hyperobjects, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, Texas, USA Downtime, Nest, The Hague, Netherlands 2017 Hôtel du Pavot 2, Frac Ile-de-France, Le Chateau, Bussy-saint-martin, France A Universal History of Infamy, LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Park La Brea, California, USA We have the weights, we have the measures, Copperfield, London, UK The Nude and The Sap, Witte de With Centrum voor Hedendaagse Kunst (Center for Contemporary Art), Rotterdam, Netherlands Hacia donde Olmedo miraba, Ponce+Robles, Madrid, Spain 2016 Miseratione non mercede, Copperfield, London, UK 2015 Adam, Eve & the Devil, Marres, House for Contemporary Culture, Maastricht, Netherlands Collections Kadist, San Francisco, USA Jumex, Mexico City, Mexico LACMA, Los Angeles, Califoria, USA CIFO, Miami, Florida, USA Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands FRAC Ile-de-France, Paris, France Adrastus, Spain/Mexico Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands Otazu, Pamplona, Spain Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico Art Nexus, US/Colombia Teylers Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands Private collections include: Servais Family Collection, Belgium Silvia Fiorucci, Monaco Carlos Marsano, Peru Philara Collection, Germany Bieke and Tanguy van Quickenborne, Belgium Cloud Seven Collection, Belgium Liza Mauer, Canada Institutional Exhibitions Yokohama Triennale, Japan Delfina Foundation, London, UK NRW FORUM, Düsseldorf, Germany SongEun Art Space, SeoulLACMA, Los Angeles, California, USA Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Netherlands Zadkine Museum, Paris, France FRAC Île-de-france, Paris, France IMMA—Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland Rochechouart Musée d’art contemporain, Rochech-ouart, France Album Arte, Rome, Italy STUK, Leuven, Belgium Trienal Poligráfica, San Juan, Peurto Rico Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK National Dutch Dance Festival, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands Oud-Rekem Castle, Rekem, Belgium CAC, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Quito, Ecuador Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico Awards 2021-2026 Holt/Smithson Foundation’s The Island Project: Point of Departure Residencies Jan van Eyck, Netherlands Delfina Foundation, UK Fondazione Ratti, Italy Skowhegan, USA Seven Below, USA Leiden Astronomical Observatory, Netherlands Selected press, media and publications Discussing ‘Solaris’. Oscar Santillán interviewed by Laurie Kang, podcast, 55 minutes (2025): Cybernetics: A conversation with Andrew Pickering, podcast, 71 minutes (2025): https://antimundo.org/idea/antimundo-andrew-pickering/ Art& AI: Panel Discussion with Oscar Santillán, The Lunder Institute for American Art, Colby College Museum of Art, USA (2023): https://antimundo.org/idea/panel/ ANTIMUNDO: A conversation between artist Oscar Santillán and curator Alessandra Troncone (2022): https://antimundo.org/idea/aantimundo-the-encounter-of-indigenous-epistemologies-sci-fi-and-cybernetics/ The Interspecies Virtual Machine, The 2022 Miles and Katharine Culbertson Prentice Distinguished Lecture: Oscar Santillán, Colby College Museum of Art, USA (2022): https://antimundo.org/idea/the-interspecies-virtual-machine-nov-10-colby-college/ A.I. Murmurings: Oscar Santillán on artificial intelligence, ecology and sci-fi, podcast, 59 minutes (07/02/2022): https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?from=embed&i=jp3zv-119d2d8-pb&square=1&share=1&download=1&fonts=Arial&skin=1&font-color=&rtl=0&logo_link=&btn-skin=7&size=300 The Andean Information Age (Bom Dia Publications, 2020) |