Carlos Motta. Pleas of Resistance
MACBA, Barcelona
21 February – 26 October 2025
Untitled Self-Portrait, #4, 2019
© Carlos Motta
Pleas of Resistance is the first major European museum exhibition dedicated to Colombian artist CARLOS MOTTA (Bogota, 1978). A resident of New York for many years, the artist began his career in the 1990s and is an important figure in contemporary art. The artist’s work can only be understood through his commitment to social and political movements, specifically the politics of gender identity and sexuality and, above all, his staunch commitment to giving voice to dissident expressions in the face of dominant normative discourses. This point permeates all of his work, which pivots on two dialogical axes: intersectionality and queerness.
The MACBA exhibition acknowledges the relevance of Motta’s projects and discourses on issues of violence, domination, religion and politics. It does so with pieces that address discrimination in increasingly conservative political environments (such as in the United States), the plight of undocumented immigrants around the world, and Latin American decolonization projects.
Pleas of Resistance covers more than twenty-five years of the artist’s practice, in which his early explorations of photographic self-portraiture are exhibited alongside his most recent performances and video installations. The exhibition focuses on the rigor of Motta’s artistic research, on his continuous questioning of the archive – its violence and silencing, its fears and desires. Motta’s work challenges the imposition of Eurocentric epistemologies – from the time of the conquest and colonial period in the Americas to the present day – and considers the legacy of religion as a perpetrator and disruptive vehicle of coloniality.
Pleas of Resistance provides a unique opportunity for an in-depth look at Motta’s work and some of the pieces that have made him an important reference for both artistic and political activism, such as We Who Feel Differently (2012), which addresses the LGTBI+ movement; Legacy (2019), which reflects upon the impact of AIDS; Air of Life (2023), a collaborative multimedia installation that examines experiences of marginalization and the intersectional repercussions of colonialism; the installation When I Leave This World (2022), which shows the performance of a person who adopts an animal aesthetic; and Nefandus (2013), a video trilogy that investigates pre-Hispanic and colonial homoeroticism, one of which is part of the MACBA collection.
Alongside the exhibition, the museum hosts a new edition of La Internacional Queer/Cuir: a series of debates, lectures, live art, music and performance presented at MACBA, coordinated by the public programmes area. The past and present HIV/AIDS pandemic will be the common thread, with a focus on Global South perspectives. A publication compiling the contributions of the eight previous editions of La Internacional Queer as well as this new edition will be published upon the exhibition’s conclusion.
Carlos Motta. Pleas of Resistance is curated by Agustín Pérez-Rubio in collaboration with María Berríos.
MACBA
Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona
Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona
Plaça dels Àngels, 1, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona
