Federico Uribe
Born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1962, Federico Uribe currently lives and works in Miami. His artwork resists classification, and emerges from intertwining everyday objects in surprising ways that maintain a formal reference to art history. Uribe studied art at the University of Los Andes in Bogotá, and by 1988 he arrived in New York to pursue an MFA degree under the supervision of Luis Camnitzer. After receiving his degree, he left New York to study and work in Cuba, Mexico, Russia, England, and finally Miami.
In 1996, Uribe abandoned his paintbrushes and canvases in favor of household objects (plastic cutlery, colored pencils, and so on). He began to carefully observe, collect, juxtapose, and combine this alternative media. They have become unusual instruments of a new aesthetic, full of color, irony, and lively playfulness. When observed closely, his works reveal various kinds of interpretations; they tempt us to touch them, to discover the detail and connection between one element and another. When viewed from further away, they offer volumes, forms, textures, and color. His creations elicit excitement and intrigue from all walks of life, and the novelty of the media often belies the compelling aesthetic merit of each work of art.
Uribe’s work has become prominent in the United States over the past decade. His artwork has been collected by and featured in multiple museums around North and South America. Uribe’s work is rapidly becoming some of the most sought after contemporary art around the world.
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Cardinal (Bird 10) -
Falcon (Bird 50)
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Silver Squirrel
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Bullet Parrot (Bird 42)
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Green Parrot on Driftwood (Bird 38)
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Tropical Bird on Driftwood (Bird 30),
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Bird on a Flower 2
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Perched (Bird 22)
EDUCATION
1990 Instituto Superior de Arte, La Habana, Cuba.
1988-89 State University of New York, under the supervision of Luis Camnitzer. 1984-87 Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 BLOOM, Adelson Galleries, Palm Beach, FL
2024 Menagerie, The Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT
2023 Found Beauty, Adelson Galleries, New York, NY
Metamorphosis / Metamorfosis, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI
Plastic Reef, The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE
2022 Plastic Reef, The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
2021 Lush, Adelson Galleries, Palm Beach, FL
Maluma x Uribe, Miami, FL
2020 Animalia, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
The Practice of Optimism, Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, Palm Beach, FL
2019 Plastic Reef, Palazzo Bembo, Personal Structures, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
WOW, Adelson Cavalier Galleries, Palm Beach, FL
2018 Rotunda Projects: Federico Uribe, The Brooks Museum, Memphis, TN
The World According to Federico Uribe, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
2016 TransformArt, Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, AL
Here Comes the Sun, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA
Animals and Friends, Adelson Galleries, New York, NY
2015 At Peace, Adelson Galleries, Boston, MA
TransformArt, Colombian Embassy, Washington, DC
2014 30th Anniversary, South Florida Art Center, Miami, FL
Drawn in Pencils, Adelson Galleries, New York, NY
Objects In a Mirror, Adelson Galleries, Boston, MA
2013 The Realm of the Unreal, Now Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
Color Construido, Museo de Arte de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia
Compulsive Pencil, KM Fine Arts Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Fantasy River, Hudson River Museum, New York, NY
Dos Hemisferios, MAC Panama, Panama City, Panama
2012 Art Platform, Los Angeles, CA
Painting on a Shoestring, Now Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
2011 Once Upon a Time, Now Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
The World According Federico Uribe, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL
2010 Abstract-o, Vero Beach Museum, Vero Beach, FL
Slowly but Surely, The Wolfsonian-FIU Museum, Miami Beach, FL
Cyclic, Waterfront Park, West Palm Beach, FL
Risk, Praxis Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL
2009 Pencilism, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
Human Nature, Oratorio di San Rocco, Padova, Italy
Sculptures by Federico Uribe, FUMI Gallery, London, UK
Abstract-O, Praxis Gallery, Miami, FL
2008 Animal Farm, La Comunidad, Miami, FL
2007 Human Nature, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
2006 Human Nature, PUMA, Miami, FL
Solo Show, Annina Nosei Gallery (Scope), Miami, FL
2005 Second Nature, Design Miami, Miami, FL
Pencil paintings, Jacob Karpio Gallery (Art Basel), Miami Beach, FL
2004 Federico Uribe, Art Museum of the Americas (O.A.S), Washington, DC
Garden on gardening tools, Jacob Karpio Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
Federico Uribe, Joan Guaita Art Gallery, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2003 Comments on Paintings, Annina Nosei Gallery, New York, NY
Garden on Tools & Screwed, The Bass Museum, Miami, FL
2002 Screwed, Annina Nosei Gallery, New York, NY
Cactus Garden, Angel Romero Gallery, Miami, FL
2001 Torsos, Annina Nosei Gallery, Chicago, IL
Cactus Garden, Futurshow, Bologna, Italy
2000 Adam and Eve, Annina Nosei Gallery, New York, NY
Silfides y Jardin de Cactus, Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Guadalajara, México
1999 Federico Uribe, Adriana Schmidt Gallery, Cologne, Germany
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Animalia, Darmstadt Kunsthalle, Germany
Queer Love: Affection and Romance in Contemporary Art, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY
2022 An Inclusive World, COPE NYC, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Tick Tock, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY
2017 Second Time Around, California Center for the Arts, Escondido, CA
Repsychling, RoCA, Nyack, NY
2016 Bedazzled, Lehman College Art Gallery, New York, NY
2015 An Inclusive World, Queens Museum, New York, NY
2014 The Art of the Dog, Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE
The Peacock and Beauty in Art, Hudson River Museum, New York, NY
2013 At Every Turn, Museum Villa Rot, Burgrieden, Germany
Experimental Shoe Design, Grassi Museum, Leipzig, Germany
2012 This Side of Paradise, The Andrew Freedman Home, Bronx, NY
2010 Parallel Realities, Now Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
2009 Praxis, Miami, FL
2008 Paper Love, Luminaire & Christie’s, Miami, FL
Latin American Flavor, Opera Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2007 Imprinted Bodies, Transylvania University, Lexington, KY
2004 Push Play, Museum of Modern Art, Jacksonville, FL
American Dream, The Ignatian Center for The Arts, Miami, FL
2003 A Painting Over a Sofa, Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL
Fresh, National Gallery of Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands
2002 The Latin Century, The Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY
The Medium is the Message, Art Center, Miami, FL
2001 A Painting Over a Sofa, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL
Circos Globulos, The Babilonia Wilner Collection, Berkeley, CA
2000 3a Convocatoria Internacional, Luis Adelantado Gallery, Valencia, Spain
MUSEUMS & PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Al Thani Collection, Qatar, UAE
Bacardi Foundation, México
Bass Museum of Arts, Miami, FL
Bulgari Collection, Italy
Copelouzos Family Collection, Athens, Greece
Delfina Entrecanales Collection, England
Dolce & Gabbana Flagship Store, Milan, Italy
The Hermès Foundation, Paris, France
Jacob Javits, New York, NY
Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
United Arab Emirates Royal Family Collection, UAE
Vero Beach Museum, Vero Beach, FL
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2017 Watch the Parade, Skira
2014 Drawn in Pencils, Adelson Galleries
Objects In a Mirror, Adelson Galleries
2010 Federico Uribe, Now Contemporary Art
2009 Pencilism, Praxis Gallery
Abstract-O, Praxis Gallery
Human Nature, Oratorio di San Rocco
2008 Ma Tse Lin & Federico Uribe, Opera Gallery
2004 American Dream, The Ignatian Center For The Arts
Push Play Redefining Pop, Jacksonville Museum of Art
2001 A Painting Over a Sofa, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery
GRANTS & AWARDS
2019 Winner of Ellies Creative Award, Oolite Arts, Miami, FL
2008 Silver & Bronze medals, NYF International Advertising Awards, New York, NY
2001 New Forms Miami, Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, Miami, FL
2000 South Florida Art Center, Miami
1992 The Delfina Studios Trust, London, U.K.
1991 Ciudad de México, México, D.F.
PUBLIC LECTURES
2014 Arts Mean Business, February 6, NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2008 PAMM Art Trekkers Lecture, November 15, Perez Art Museum, Miami, FL
ArtCrowd Lecture, January 15, The Bass Museum, Miami, FL
2007 Workshop, October 10-13, Los Altos de Chavon School of Design, La Romana, Dominican Republic
Workshop, October 4, FIU Visual Art Department, Miami, FL
ArtCrowd Lecture, September 5, The Bass Museum, Miami, FL
Latin American & Caribbean Art Lecture Series, April 17, Frost Art Museum, Miami, FL
2006 Pecha Kucha Lecture, Inside Out, December 7, Miami, FL
2003 ArtCrowd Lecture, August 18, The Bass Museum, Miami, FL
ART IN PUBLIC PLACES
2024 Plastic Reef, Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, FL
2019 Spectacled Bear, Parco de la Paz, commissioned by the City of Pereira, Colombia