Edgar Calel

Edgar Calel
Artist, San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala

Edgar Calel (Chi Xot, San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, 1987) studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte Rafael Rodríguez Padilla. He works in a variety of media, exploring the complexities of the indigenous experience, as seen through the Mayan Kaqchikel cosmovision, spirituality, rituals, community practices, and beliefs, in juxtaposition with the systematic racism and exclusion that the indigenous people of Guatemala endure on a daily basis.

In 2023, Calel had his first institutional solo show B’alab’äj (Jaguar Stone) at SculptureCenter. In 2021 had his first solo show, Pa Ru Tun Che´ (From a Tree Top), at Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City. Additionally, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions including Choreographies of the Impossible, 35th São Paulo Biennial (2023); uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things, 12th Liverpool Biennial (2023); Soft and Weak Like Water, 14th Gwangju Biennial (2023); Is It Morning for You Yet?, 58th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh (2022); The Crack Begins Within, 11th Berlin Biennial, (2020); Los Jardineros (The Gardeners), Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City (2020); Continuous Fire | Feu continuel, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2019); Virginia Pérez Ratton. Centroamérica: Deseo de lugar / Centra America, MUAC Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2019).

His works are part of the permanent collections of Rijkscolectie- National Collection of the Netherlands; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Tate, London; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; the National Gallery of Canada, Ontario; Fundación TEOR/ética, San José, Costa Rica; MADC Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, San José, Costa Rica; and Kadist, San Francisco.