Carlos Motta is an Colombian-born, New York-based artist. Motta has an interdisciplinary practice making work in film, photography and sculpture. Motta's practice challenges dominant ideas about sexuality and gender using a myriad of archival material, art historical references, and the body.
In 2008, Motta had his first show in Philadelphia at the Institute of Contemporary Art. Titled Carlos Motta: The Good Life, the large-scale documentary project, which began in 2005, explored the history and effects of US interventionist policies in Latin America. More than 300 interviews were conducted between the artist and civilians in 12 different Latin American cities. In 2009, Motta had his first a solo exhibition in New York at MoMA PS1, New York, titled On-site 1: Carlos Motta. The exhibition included two newspapers and black vinyl mural and investigated the School of the Americas -a Cold War institution sponsored by the U.S. government to train Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency tactics and various military tactics. One year later, Motta showed at the Museo de Arte del Banco de la República in Bogotá. In 2012, the artist began working on the database documentary wewhofeeldifferently.info as part of the New Museum's Museum as Hub program. The culmination of the project, titled We Who Feel Differently, approached and re-negotiated the idea of sexual and gender "difference" in terms of greater equality. The project included an exhibition, several public events, and symposium with guest speakers. At The Tanks in 2013, Motta organized the symposium Gender Talents: A Special Address which included artists and activists like Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, Giuseppe Campuzano, J. Jack Halberstam, Beatriz Preciado, Dean Spade, Wu Tsang & Safra Project, Del LaGrace Volcano and more. Motta has frequently exhibited with Galerie Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil, and P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, New York. A monograph of Motta's work will be published in early 2020 by SKIRA. The book will feature essays by Hendrik Folkerts, Andrea Giunta, Miguel A. López, and Agustín Pérez Rubio.
