Altamirano, Carlos

(Chile, 1954)

Between 1972 and 1973, he studied architecture at the University of Chile in Valparaíso. After abandoning the career, he moved to Santiago where he studied for a year and a half at the School of Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University. There, he was a student and assistant to Eduardo Vilches.

In 2008, he received the Altazor Award in the Installation and Video Art category for his complete body of work, and in 2001, he won the Altazor Award in the Installation and Video Art category for the XII Annual Exhibition of the Museum of Modern Art of Chiloé, both awards given in Santiago, Chile.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he formed a theoretical and artistic work group with art critic Nelly Richard (Chile, 1948) and visual artist Carlos Leppe. Together, they managed the programming of the Cromo, CAL, and Sur galleries, edited a series of documents, catalogs, and magazines, and organized debates and exhibitions. Richard considered Altamirano’s work from that period as part of the so-called Avanzada Scene, a term referring to a group of artistic and literary practices carried out during the military dictatorship, characterized by their neo-avant-garde experimentalism.

In his work, Altamirano explores and intersects various techniques such as printmaking, painting, installations, photography, and video art, among others. One of the recurring issues he addresses is the critical revision of the history and tradition of Chilean art, which he parodies and deconstructs. Through the montage of images, symbols, and materials from diverse origins, frequently referencing the art system and mass culture, the artist creates a new personal history of Chilean art.