Mejía, Juan

Colombian artist born in 1966. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Los Andes. In 2004, he obtained a master's degree in Art and Architecture History and Theory from the National University of Colombia. In addition to his artistic practice, he is an associate professor in the Department of Art at the University of Los Andes. His visual work revolves around the creation of allegorical and allusive images related to the artistic formation process and education in general, with constant references to childhood, adolescence, the school environment, and autobiography. He employs various mediums such as drawing, installation, publications, and occasionally performance. His works are characterized by a certain precariousness in their elements and a blending of sources from high culture, popular culture, and the media, including literature, art, music, and film. Through these allusions and references, his deliberate and ironic sense of incompleteness and "desire to be" is evident, which greatly shapes the nature of his work. He has exhibited individually and collectively since 1995 in national contemporary art spaces and events, and occasionally internationally. He has received several awards, including the first prize at the VII Regional Salon of Artists (1995), the Solidarte Award (1997), and the Luis Caballero Award (2015). He works and lives in Bogotá.