Critical Writings by Alvaro Barrios published in Revista del arte y la arquitectura en América Latina: Contributions to an understanding of the concept of art in light of Álvaro Barrios’ critical works in the context of Colombian art, 1978-1982

During the 60’s and 70’s in Colombia, art criticism was published in written texts and specialized magazines directly related to the Colombian artistic field. Many historians, philosophers, intellectuals, and writers were interested in criticizing how artists and institutions were developing a sense of beauty and taste in art. However, the way art criticism turned into a counterpart of the artistic production defined how artists took part in writing about artworks, exhibitions, and institutions from their point of view and artistic production experience. The following research describes the written work of Alvaro Barrios, a well-known contemporary Colombian artist and art critic who wrote for Revista del Arte y la Arquitectura en América Latina (an art criticism and review specialized Architecture and Art magazine published in Medellin, Colombia) between 1978 and 1982. This research focuses on analyzing three main articles written by Barrios to build up a concept of art according to the context that the author was living in while he was exploring his own artwork creation.