Gaitán, Pepe

Colombia, 1959

Pepe Gaitán pursued his studies in social communication and was a professor for a while. He was particularly interested in radio. In 1975, the curious expression “Don’t eat so many sweets if you don’t want to catch amoebas” seemed to be the catalyst for a turning point in his life. It was indeed after this moment that he began his work. He spent his days in libraries, picked texts meticulously, photocopied them and then added his touch, first by crossing out most of the letters, then transforming the page by adding collages and signs always with a very particular chromatic range. The echoes of forms that recall a sort of codification give these works a striking geometric force. Each page hides amoebas that he calls pseudopods. He lives alone today in Bogota and draws constantly.

Source: Based on christian berst art brut