Delcy Morelos

Published on the occasion of a commission by Dia Art Foundation, the book is not only a retrospective of Morelos''s work, but also, delves into the intricate relationships between Indigenous communities and their natural surroundings. By examining the aesthetic and environmental considerations of the natural materials used in Morelos''s installations, readers reflect on their own relationship with the environment and the materials that shape our world. Includes a conversation between Morelos and Chilean artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña, as well as stories from Indigenous communities in Amazonian Colombia, providing firsthand insights into the cultural narratives that inform Morelos''s practice. Morelos''s immersive installations aim to cultivate moments of connection with what she describes as the "intimate humidity of the Earth." This monograph, the first to be published in the United States, situates the Bogotà-based artist''s practice within a broader, more global history of Land art and abstraction. It also examines the aesthetic and environmental considerations of the natural materials used in her Dia commission as well as their unique sensory, spatial, and phenomenological impact on the viewer. The book will uncover the fascinating art-historical grounding of the commission through an introduction by Alexis Lowry, Dia curator. This overview will be supplemented by a meditation on peat, a singular and controversial material in Land art, by curator Camila Marambio and University of Queensland biology professor Renee Rossini, as well as an essay on scent and sculpture by Oswaldo Macía. The book will also feature a statement by the artist herself and a lively conversation between Morelos and the Chilean artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña. In a further exploration of one of Morelos''s central creative and intellectual inspirations-Indigenous narratives about land and soil-this volume will publish for the first time a special section of stories from four communities-Barasana, Uitoto N+pode, and Yucuna-based in the Amazonian lands more commonly known as Colombia.