The biographical sketch in this text is taken from the obituary written by Gloria Posada (b. 1967) for Arcadia (the magazine published by Publicaciones Semana) in March 2008, on the occasion of the sudden death of the graphic designer and artist Adolfo Bernal (1954–2008). Posada provides a detailed description of the bulk of Bernal’s work, mentioning his relative obscurity in recent decades—considering that he began his artistic career in the 1970s—which was barely made up for by the following exhibitions: the seminary Do it / Hágalo usted: versión colombiana [Do It / Do It Yourself: Colombian Version] (at the Banco de la República, Bogotá, 1997); a solo show at the Museo de Antioquia (Medellín, 2007); a solo presentation at the Salón Regional de Artistas Zona Centro-Occidente [Regional Artists Salon, Central-Western Zone] (Medellín, 2007); the retrospective Encuentro Internacional Medellín 07 [International Gathering Medellín 07] (MDE07) / Prácticas Artísticas Contemporáneas: Espacios de hospitalidad [Contemporary Art Practices: Hospitality Spaces] (January–June 2007), and his project at Lugar a dudas [Room For Doubt] (Cali, 2008). From his body of work, which was hard to classify and could be considered “a school, a technique, or a material,” the following projects are reviewed: The End (1975 and 2007), a message on fliers released over Medellín; Señales [Signs] (1980–2007), “graffiti and posters bearing geometrical texts or coded texts that could be interpreted in a variety of ways by the viewer”; Norte [North] (1984), an arrow measuring 2000 square meters drawn with agricultural lime, a joint project undertaken with youngsters from the Castilla neighborhood; Bienvenida al Cometa Halley [Welcome to Halley’s Comet] (1986), a group bonfire on Nutibara Hill; Señales con espejos [Signs with Mirrors] (1995), an interplay of reflections between the El Volador and Nutibara Hills; Alborada [Dawn] (April 13, 2007), a musical piece played at dawn on two of the hills surrounding the city of Medellín; and finally, Caballos de Hierro —no lugar a lugar— [Iron Horses—Not Place To Place—] (November 9, 2007) an invitation to the public to take part in a festive reactivation of the Antioquia Railway.
For more information on Bernal’s work, see “Arte participativo y espacio público en Medellín” [doc. no. 1131631].