Luis Fernando Zapata (Colombia, 1951 - 1994) was a Colombian artist whose work focused on the expression of imponderable and eternal notions.
Implicit in the character of his works was an inclination towards a restricted gesture, towards a presence that does not cause disturbance, nourished by a provincial origin that kept him safe from any fickleness of current artistic events. Fatality would make this natural principle the best vehicle for its searches and idealized reconstructions of ancient rites and magical invocations.
The work of Luis Fernando Zapata from 1990 onwards refers to an investigation into the first artistic forms, to the mystery of the disappearance of art and the reasons for its existence. However, the support of his pieces transcends the naturalistic essence of prehistoric art as understood by the figures with animalistic intentions found in some current expressions. But it is part of the context in which, through the symbolism of burials and excavations, an attempt is made to discover "doors of light" towards new visions of our world.
In his series ‘Tumbas,’ ‘Sarcófagos,’ and ‘Barcas,’ the symbolism of the media that metaphorically leads to an immaterial dimension stands out as a fundamental theme in Zapata’s artistic work.
