Dr Cesar Cornejo
- Position: Associate Professor Fine Art
- Areas of expertise: Socio political informed approaches to arts and architecture; interdisciplinary practices; transcultural approaches to arts; alternative museum models
- Email: C.Cornejo@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: 1.17 School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies
- Website: cesarcornejo | puno museum of contemporary art | X | LinkedIn | ORCID
Profile
I am an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the relationship between art, architecture, and society, and who is influenced by having lived and worked in four different cultures: Peru, Japan, England, and the USA, each of which has influenced my way of thinking and working. As a result, I produce multi-layered pieces that challenge boundaries and conventions, which may address issues related to my native Peru while also being open to broader interpretations.
I have participated in exhibitions such as Art Positions, London Art Fair 2020, California Pacific Triennial 2017, XII Havana Biennial 2015, Busan Biennial 2008, Art Positions at Art Basel Miami 2011, the Biennial S-Files Museo del Barrio, NY 2007, and V Biennial Barro de America, Venezuela 2004. I have been selected to participate in the upcoming NY Latin American Art Triennial 2022. Have received awards and residencies from the Pollock Krasner Foundation, Fulbright Commission, Arts Council England, Creative Capital Foundation, Bellagio Center - Rockefeller Foundation, The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at Dora Maar House, The Howard Foundation, Sharpe Walentas Studio Program, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Art Omi International Artists Residency, British Council, the Vermont Studio Centre and the Ministry of Education of Japan amongst others.
I received MA and PhD degrees in Fine Arts from the Tokyo University of the Arts and a bachelor's degree and professional license in architecture from the Ricardo Palma University in Lima, Peru. I joined the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds in May 2022. I previously worked as a senior lecturer in Fine Art at Manchester Metropolitan University, an associate professor at the University of South Florida, and an Adjunct Professor at the College University of New York, amongst others. I am the founder of the community museum project Puno Museum of Contemporary Art (Puno MoCA), and I am represented by Gallery Ed Cross Fine Art in London.
I joined the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds in May 2022, after having worked as Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the Manchester Metropolitan University, Associate Professor at the School of Art and Art History at the University of South Florida and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Performing and Creative Arts at the City University of New York, Staten Island.
Responsibilities
- Programme Leader MA Fine Art
Research interests
I create work that comments critically on social events and structures of power, and reflects on my personal experiences, while exploring the relationship between art, architecture, and society. In this regard, I am particularly interested in investigating, through art, the expressive potential of architecture as a spatial representation of social, cultural, and economic structures.
Growing up in Peru, I was struck by the local urban landscape, where a stark contrast between extreme poverty and wealth coexisted. As a result, my artwork strives to bridge the gap between these opposite realities and create an alternative reality. I do this by combining different media, creating alternative conceptual models, and through cross-cultural practices that articulate opposing and sometimes disparate aspects of reality, recomposing them in new settings that challenge our perception.
My body of work includes installation, sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, performance, architecture and community-based projects. I often combine these media in multidisciplinary projects. The development of an expression that combines these different elements is an ongoing process central to my studio practice. As a result, I produce multilayered pieces that, while addressing specific problems that may refer to my native Peru, are also open to multiple readings and interpretations, making them accessible to international audiences.
I am passionate about community work, and I strongly believe that art has the power to transform the lives and experiences of people from every social and economic group regarding their environment and life in general. I also strongly believe that art that touches people's lives and is most transcendental – while this does not necessarily mean it is most visible – carries a weight that, in this time and age, is urgent.
Also, since 2007, I have been working on a project to create a community-based museum in Puno, Perú. Puno MoCA redefines the concept of a contemporary art museum by transforming it into a community-based institution in terms of organisation and infrastructure. Puno MoCA proposes to owners of homes in underprivileged neighbourhoods of Puno, Peru, to carry out construction work in their homes for free, on the condition that, in exchange, they allow us to exhibit contemporary art in the repaired spaces for a period of time. During the exhibition, visitors enter the homes to see the works and interact with the owners. After the exhibitions are over, they keep the refurbished spaces and reintegrate them into the houses' regular functions. This project was featured in the XII Havana Biennial, 2015.
Relevant websites:
Qualifications
- BA Architecture, University Ricardo Palma, Lima - Peru
- Professional License in Architecture, University Ricardo Palma, Lima - Peru
- MA Sculpture, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
- PhD Fine Arts, Sculpture, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
Professional memberships
- Royal Society of Arts
- Advance HE
- Royal Society of Sculptors
- School of Architects of Peru
Student education
- BA Fine Art
- MA Fine Art
- PhD Fine Art Practice