At the Banco de la República Auditorium, we gathered for an afternoon of remembrance, history, art, and memory. The occasion? The presentation of the book Imaquinación: An Approach to Edgar Negret and the documentary Negret / Genesis of a Metamorphosis — two fascinating projects that aim to bring the public closer to the life and work of one of the most influential figures in Colombian modern art, who also hails from Popayán. This book, the 48th title in the Posteris Lvmen commemorative collection by the University of Cauca Press, contributes to the ongoing goal of publishing 100 titles to celebrate the bicentennial of our university.

In a warm event that began with opening remarks by Dr. Francisco Pino, Vice-Rector for Research, a deep acknowledgment was made of the legacy of a sculptor who transformed metal into poetic thought: Popayán native Edgar Negret. During the ceremony, Juan Carlos Pino, Director of the University of Cauca Press, and Cristian Ordóñez, guest editor of the volume, also spoke, emphasizing the importance of continuing the dialogue about Negret — not just as an artist, but as a visionary of Latin American modernity. Thus, this literary work was presented within a day of academic, artistic, and critical reflection, integrating written and audiovisual art as complementary languages to reconstruct such a complex and inspiring figure.

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The emotional high point came with the screening of the 14-minute mini-documentary Negret / Genesis of a Metamorphosis, directed by Marco Paredes Manzano. This production, the result of over five years of research and a collaborative funding model, immersed attendees in a sensory journey through the master's work. Paredes noted, "We wanted to translate how the master's proposal invites us into those inner spaces, into that internal void that projects itself into the universe. These were some of the aspects we wanted to touch on — Negret's metamorphosis, his continuous sculpture that is geometric and symmetrical like the city of Popayán with all its baroque character."

This audiovisual piece was conceived as a conversation between generations: from the walks of a character wandering through Popayán — played by Professor Esteban Hernández — to the words of Negret himself, rescued from historical archives. "That guiding voice-over is Professor Esteban Hernández, speaking with the city and with the master, observing the city through binoculars. It provides that element of bridging distances that connect, much like Negret’s bridge-like proposals — creating spaces for contact and generating a whole dynamic of meaning in the dialogue he always proposed," added Paredes.

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Following the screening, a rich conversation took place, moderated by Esteban Hernández, historian and former director of the Negret House Museum, alongside University of Cauca writer and professor Felipe García Quintero and filmmaker Marco Paredes. It was an exchange of memories, interpretations, and reflections. For Hernández, the book and documentary represent "a happy coincidence that allows us to understand the aesthetic, political, and spiritual trajectory of an artist who made abstraction a language to speak about violence, injustice, and the soul of a country."

The book Imaquinación: An Approach to Edgar Negret offers a compilation of texts spanning different moments of Negret’s work, with invited writers who engage with his legacy and share their admiration. Hernández explained, "It allows us to follow the trail of a passionate career, where influences like Jorge Oteiza converge with foundational critiques by Marta Traba and Álvaro Medina." Beyond a chronological narrative, the publication delves into the symbolic and real battles fought by the master, through the voices of different authors.

For Marco Paredes, the title of the documentary reflects a double metamorphosis: the city's transformation over time, and the artist’s spiritual evolution from religious to cosmic dimensions. "His infinite, prolific, and truly overwhelming imagination — galactic even — offers material for much more content that can help audiences, and new generations, engage with the sacred and with abstract art," he affirmed.

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One of the most poignant moments came when discussing the sculpture Tribute to the Student, an abstract work destroyed in Cali in the 1950s. "That was a point of catharsis," Paredes recalled. "Realizing that the sculpture was by Negret, and that it had been misunderstood and destroyed, drove us to imagine ways to restore its place in history." This lost memory becomes one of the key metaphors of the documentary and a symbol of the persistence of his legacy.

Felipe García Quintero highlighted the need to read Negret not only as a sculptor but as a thinker of the visual and the identity. "The past devours the present. Negret discovered a past — not only pre-Hispanic but also mestizo — a cosmos that was with him all along but which he only managed to recognize and immortalize through his work," he remarked during the conversation.

Besides being a celebration, the presentation was also an invitation to recognize ourselves in Negret’s legacy. For Esteban Hernández, Negret understood that art had to dialogue with its context. Works such as Commemorative Column of a Massacre and Tribute to the Student make this clear. Through abstraction, he sought to denounce, poetize, and heal. This social, ethical, and aesthetic intention is what makes Negret an indispensable reference for new generations of artists.

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Finally, the event closed with a hopeful message: Negret’s work remains alive. In every sculpture that defies gravity, in every sheet of metal that curves toward the cosmos, in every reader who delves into the pages of Imaquinación, the indomitable spirit of an artist who turned metal into poetry and art into a form of resistance is manifested.

Thus, the book and the documentary are just two of many gateways into a universe that continues to expand, because, as the speakers at the event expressed, Negret was not merely a sculptor of metals — he was a builder of bridges: bridges between the visible and the invisible, between pain and hope, between matter and soul. That is the legacy we celebrate.

If you are interested, you can purchase Imaquinación: An Approach to Edgar Negret at the University of Cauca Press bookstore, located on the corner of 5th Street #4-07, downtown Popayán, diagonally across from the Francisco José de Caldas Paraninfo.

 

Written by: Communications Management Center