"This is something that is really important in my life. To make images and see images, particularly painting, is something that is very essential to my life and I have to keep doing it."
— Antonia Caicedo Holguín
Antonia Caicedo Holguín (b. 1997 in Colombia) is deeply influenced by her hometown of Cali, Colombia, from the people who inhabit the city to the vibrant salsa music and dance culture of the region. By exploring everyday life, memory, and imagination, Caicedo Holguín chronicles her life, friends, and family. “A key component of my practice is the playfulness of writing narratives. The characters I build hold the charm, depth, and presence of literary protagonists.” Drawing inspiration from contemporary painters like Paula Rego and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, as well as old masters like Degas and Manet, her work often depicts fleeting moments of intimacy and moments of solitude. Often the subjects of Caicedo Holguín’s paintings seem to be in a state of introspection, or lost in reverie. She works with a variety of materials, including oil paint and unconventional materials like coffee grounds, coffee dyes, natural Latin American pigments, and found objects.
Caicedo Holguín received her Master of Arts in 2023 from the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, at University College London in London, England. She has exhibited internationally, and has received the following awards and grants: The Olive Award, in recognition of art process experimentation, The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, 2023, The Sarabande Foundation, Emerging Artist Fund, 2023, The Chelsea Arts Club Trust MA Materials and Research Award, 2022, and The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, 2021. She was a featured guest on the 250th episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast, The Week in Art, hosted by Ben Luke in 2023. She was featured in The Art Newspaper, in an article titled “Art stars of tomorrow? Four of my favourite artists from the Slade School degree show in London” by Dr. Chibundu Onuzo in 2023, and again in 2024 in the article “I commissioned an artist for the first time: here's what it taught me about what it really means to be a ‘collector’.” The artist lives and works in London, England.
