Local Colour is a Foreign Invention
2020 – present
Pigmented inks prints on Hahnemühle paper.
Dimensions variable.
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Local Color is a Foreign Invention explores the relationship between painting and geography, inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ famous phrase that gives the series its title. I investigate whether a “local color” can truly be identified within specific places by examining how Western artists from the 17th century to today have represented the sky.
Fragments of skies gathered from museum websites are treated as color samples and reorganized chromatically in grid compositions following the Pantone scale. Each swatch includes the name of the artist, the date, and the original artwork, creating temporal juxtapositions that connect different generations and locations through a shared gaze toward the landscape.
Addressing themes such as identity, colonialism, nationalism, globalisation, trade, and climate, the series seeks to move beyond political boundaries and reveal the common human experience embedded in our surroundings.
Fragments of skies gathered from museum websites are treated as color samples and reorganized chromatically in grid compositions following the Pantone scale. Each swatch includes the name of the artist, the date, and the original artwork, creating temporal juxtapositions that connect different generations and locations through a shared gaze toward the landscape.
Addressing themes such as identity, colonialism, nationalism, globalisation, trade, and climate, the series seeks to move beyond political boundaries and reveal the common human experience embedded in our surroundings.
Credits
General installation view of the exhibition Cristina Garrido. The White Cube is Never Empty, MACS - Grand-Hornu (Hornu, 2025). Image: Isabelle Arthuis.
General installation views and details of the exhibition Tierra Siena, azul de Delft, bermellón de China, The Goma (Madrid, 2020).
Images: Roberto Ruiz.
Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (British Islands) (2020). 134 x 149 cm.
General installation views and details of the exhibition El color local es un invento extranjero, Festival PHotoESPAÑA 2024. Sala de exposiciones ‘Las Francesas’ (Valladolid, 2024).
Images: Víctor Hugo Martín Caballero.
Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (Paris) (2020). 127,5 x 124,5 cm.
Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (The Netherlands/ Belgium) (2020). 126,5 x 149 cm.
General installation view of the exhibition Cristina Garrido. The White Cube is Never Empty, MACS - Grand-Hornu (Hornu, 2025). Image: Isabelle Arthuis.
General installation views and details of the exhibition Tierra Siena, azul de Delft, bermellón de China, The Goma (Madrid, 2020).
Images: Roberto Ruiz.
Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (British Islands) (2020). 134 x 149 cm.
General installation views and details of the exhibition El color local es un invento extranjero, Festival PHotoESPAÑA 2024. Sala de exposiciones ‘Las Francesas’ (Valladolid, 2024).
Images: Víctor Hugo Martín Caballero.
Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (Paris) (2020). 127,5 x 124,5 cm.
Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (The Netherlands/ Belgium) (2020). 126,5 x 149 cm.