scar Murillo, 37, exploded on to the global art scene a decade ago, becoming known as “the 21st-century Basquiat”. Born in Colombia, he moved with his family to London when he was 10. He graduated from the Royal College of Art, and worked as a cleaner and a teacher until 2013 when one of his paintings, with an estimated value of $30,000, sold for $401,000 at auction in New York. In 2019, Murillo – whose work includes paintings, videos and room-sized installations – was one of four artists to be jointly awarded the Turner prize. He has new work showing as part of To Bend the Ear of the Outer World, a show examining contemporary abstract painting at Gagosian, London.
Where are you living and working these days?
Well, I don’t really have a home. The work began, many years ago, to take me everywhere. And the pandemic really accelerated that, even though things collapsed in terms of movement. But I moved to my village [La Paila] where I grew up in Colombia and I lived there during the entire lockdown. And it was a beautiful experience to live in such a context as an adult for the first time – as opposed to being a tourist. You understand better the social complexities of Colombia and the politics. The crisis that the country has been living for decades.
Did your feelings towards the country change?
Prior to this trip, I’ve always idealised Colombia, and I still do. It’s a pretty magical place where I’m from, but it’s magical precisely because it has its own complexities. It’s not a dormant place: it’s complex and dark. But then nature injects a tremendous amount of beauty in parallel, too. Unmatched by any other place that I know. Also I had time to think about the decade that had just gone: 2020 really marked a decade of non-stop experimentation and travelling.