Born in Medellin, Colombia, Marco Tulio expertly paints canvases in which familiar, realistic scenarios are imbued with a supernatural force, where the strange is naturalized and the normal mystified. In these pictures, he creates his unique take on magical realism in which the internal and external poetics of existence are pronounced.

Tulio’s paintings are like confrontational history tableaus – luxury objects faithfully depicting a romanticized idea of “Western” culture whose enduring historical dominance and complex influence persist. His images are both an homage to and subtle critique of this past, a narrative largely transmitted via art history. This topography of forms is mined and subverted through a contemporary collision of imagery both beautiful and haunting, descriptive and playful, allegorical and historical. Tulio takes the dual bedrocks of Western civilization, Christianity and Greek culture, inverting and making them surreal, as if Magritte, De Chirico and Dali were mashed up against Michelangelo, medieval Dutch landscape and Hellenistic figuration.

Blending the narratives of sweeping history with the affect of the individual imagination, Tulio’s work is about the soul existing both inside and outside world forces that are both palpable and imagined. The result is a lush exploration of mystery and meaning through classically inspired painting that understands the material and immaterial as struggling against each other in forming our understanding of life.

Marco-Tulio-Bird-and-Watermelon-Online-Art-Galleries

Bird and Watermelon

Archival Pigment Print Backmounted to Aluminum
Edition of 10
18″ × 24″
$1,000.00

Marco-Tulio-Rooster-Online-Art-Galleries

Rooster

Archival Pigment Print Backmounted to Aluminum
Edition of 10
18″ × 24″
$1,000.00

Marco-Tulio-Bluejay-Online-Art-Galleries

Bluejay

Archival Pigment Print Backmounted to Aluminum
Edition of 10
14″ x 18″
$1,000.00

Marco-Tulio-Heron-Online-Art-Galleries

Heron

Archival Pigment Print Backmounted to Aluminum
Edition of 10
24″ × 18″
$1,000.00

Marco-Tulio-The-Bee-Eater-18x24-oil-on-canvas-6000-painting-Online-Art-Galleries

The Bee Eater

2021
Oil On Canvas
18″ x 24″
SOLD

Marco-Tulio-Jay-And-Banana-14x18-oil-on-canvas-3500-painting-Online-Art-Galleries

Jay And Banana

2020
Oil On Canvas
14″ x 18″
$3,500

Marco-Tulio-Paloma-18x24-Online-Art-Galleries

Paloma

2018
Oil On Canvas
18″ x 24″
$5,000.00

Awards
Honorary Mention, XXX Salon Nacional de Artistas, Bogota, Colombia (1986)

Solo Exhibitions
2015 The Magic Realism of Marco Tulio, Wendel Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2005 Vancouver Opera 2004/2005 Season, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2002 “Transitions”, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver BC
1989 Galeria Arte Autopista, Medellin, Colombia

Group Exhibitions
2015 2 Generaciones: de Abstraccion al Realismo, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana,
Bucaramanga, Colombia
2014 Homenaje Vida y Obra Maestro Spinosa, Salas Abierta Camara de Comercio Bucaramanga
2012 Testimonio Artistico Colombiano, Museo de Arte Moderno Bucaramanga
2010 “Latin American Painting Now”, Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL, USA
2009 “Joyas Latinoamericanas”, ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries Coral Gables, FL, USA
“Summer Love”, Elliot Louis Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2008 Arteaméricas, Miami, FL, USA
Latin American Art Fair, Miami, FL, USA
Bridge Art Fair, Miami, FL, USA
Art for Life Canvas Lounge and Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2007 Panomorama Latinoamericano, Artspace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Miami, FL, USA
2006 Paint! Gallery O at the Art Centre, Vancouver, BC
Fresh Arrivals, Artspace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Miami, FL, USA
Merrill Lynch Arteamericas, The Latin American Art Fair 2006, Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, FL, USA
2005 Latin American Visions, ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries Coral Gables, FL, USA
Young Latin Americans, ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries Coral Gables, FL, USA
Latin American Invitational , ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries Coral Gables, FL, USA
“From Here to There – 5 Magic Realists”, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2004 Vancouver Art Gallery Live Auction, Vancouver, BC
2002 “Transitions”, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver, BC
1999 Galeria Arte Autopista, Medellin, Colombia
1998 Bucaramanga Festiva y Culta Museo de Arte Moderno, Bucaramanga, Colombia
1997 Salon Regional Biblioteca Gabriel Turbay, Bucaramanga, Colombia
1996 Expoarte Vanguardia Liberal, Bucaramanga, Colombia
1993 Bucaramanga Festiva y Culta Biblioteca Gabriel Turbay, Bucaramanga, Colombia
1988 Contraloria de La Republica, Bogota, Colombia
1987 “Dos Generaciones”, Club Campestre, Bogota, Colombia
1986 XXX Salon Nacional de Artistas, Bogota, Colombia
Final de Arte Alianze Colombo, Francesa, Bucaramanga, Colombia
1985 Navidarte La Candelaria, Bogota, Colombia
1980 Salon Novel de Fusader, Bucaramanga, Colombia
1977 Salon de Arte Joven, Medellin, Colombia

Commissions
Commissioned work for Cavar.LTD. (2013)
Commissioned work for Amarey Nova Medical (2013)
Commissioned work for Bruce Wright (2012)
Commissioned work for Amarey Nova Medical (2011)
Commissioned work for the Vancouver Opera (2004)

Publications
Goodale, Gloria. “The Heart of Latin Art”. Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 2009.
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