As part of the program “The Collection on Stage,” the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art presents The House of Asterion, an exhibition that invites reflection on the tensions between the human and the monstrous, transformation, identity, and redemption. Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ short story of the same name, the exhibition takes the figure of the Minotaur as its starting point to reconsider notions of monstrosity and humanity, offering an introspective look at our condition and our relationship with other beings.

  • The title comes from Borges’s story The house of Asterion (1947), in which the author subverts the classical myth of the Minotaur by giving voice and humanity to the creature once deemed monstrous.

  • From this perspective, the exhibition explores how art can question human nature, challenging its boundaries and redefining its relationship with otherness.

  • The selected works from the MAMBO Collection address transformation, hybridization, and the processes of redefining humanity through religious, fantastical, and technological lenses.

  • Highlights include El naufragio (1998) by Gustavo Zalamea, El delirio de las monjas muertas (1973) by Juan Antonio Roda, and Así son los héroes (1971) by Pedro Alcántara Herrán.

  • Artists such as Ned Truss and Santiago Martínez Concha expand on this reflection by exploring the boundaries between body, machine, and myth.

Through The house of Asterion, MAMBO proposes a dialogue between contemporary art and its historical collection, inviting the public to reconsider what it means to be human in a world in constant transformation.