Pedro Montilla (Bogotá, 1997) is a Colombian artist whose practice unfolds through painting as a way to understand the experience of being alive and surrounded by life. He holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and a BFA from Universidad de los Andes. He is currently based in Chicago and works between the city and the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in Colombia.

His work emerges from the understanding of Painting as a mystical being, in whom science and magic converge in a continuous conversation. Through this lens, painting becomes a space for transformation, reflection, and attentive presence. Pedro works primarily on fique fabric, a fiber cultivated, dried, and woven in the Colombian Andes, traditionally used to transport coffee beans and harvests. This surface connects his artistic practice with his Andean roots, while also holding a strong sense of dislocation and the memory of what it touches. On it, he creates hybrid objects that exist between painting and tapestry, holding an imagery of landscapes, scenes, and abstractions that reflect an amalgam of internal states and lived experience.

He has presented solo exhibitions at Polícroma Galería in Medellín and participated in group shows at EXPO Chicago, Chili Art Projects in London, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, Galería El Museo, SGR Galería, and multiple editions of ARTBO in Bogotá. He has received awards such as the New Artist Society and the Second Year International Graduate Scholarships from SAIC.

Image: Pedro Montilla, Mayo Sur, 2025, Oil and distemper on fique, 118” x 86.6”

Headshot: Emily Miller