Born in 1955 in Medellín, Colombia, José Antonio Suárez Londoño initially embarked on a path in biology, studying at the Universidad de Antioquia and graduating in 1977. It was during this period that he began cultivating his artistic voice through printmaking and drawing, blending botanical, portrait, and calligraphic elements in his early compositions. Seeking to deepen his technical expertise and expand his conceptual approach, he moved to Switzerland and attended the École Supérieure d'Art Visuel in Geneva, where he earned a fine arts degree in 1984.
Suárez Londoño's studio practice is rooted in discipline and ritual. Each day, he reads a few pages from a chosen book-inspirations have ranged from Brian Eno to Borges, Rimbaud, and countless others-and responds with a drawing in a small notebook. These "Yearbooks" (cuadernos), filled with daily sketches, form an ongoing visual autobiography that interlaces literature, memory, observation, and the minutiae of daily life. His work reflects a meditative diary rendered in images: landscapes, anatomical fragments, objects, patterns, portraits, textual excerpts, and literary references appear in delicate, precise detail. Often, these drawings carry a quiet poetic charge, their intimacy inviting prolonged attention. Critics have described them as "intimate gems," each one part of a vast, open-ended narrative.
Although Suárez Londoño is known for shunning the spotlight, his art has garnered international recognition. In 2012, the Drawing Center in New York presented The Yearbooks, offering audiences a rare view into his long-term daily practice. Four years later, A New Larousse at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano explored the encyclopedic range of his imagery. His exhibition Muestrario traveled between the CAPC musée d'art contemporain in Bordeaux and La Casa Encendida in Madrid in 2015, while Almanach at the Museum Villa Stuck in Munich in 2018 further cemented his international profile. He has also participated in major art events including the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 and both the 24th and 32nd São Paulo Biennials in 1998 and 2004, and his work has been shown in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.
His drawings and prints have entered numerous important public collections. These include the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Banco de la República in Colombia, the Graphische Sammlung Albertina in Vienna, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the Tamarind Institute. The presence of his work in such varied collections underscores its universal appeal and significance within both Latin American and global art histories.
Suárez Londoño is renowned for a humble yet unwavering dedication to his craft. He deliberately avoids technological distractions-eschewing computers and cell phones-in favor of the tactile intimacy of analog tools such as notebooks, pencils, and etching plates. His personal credo, "always do the same thing, and always do it differently," captures the ritualistic quality and evolving nature of his practice. The small scale and intricate detail of his works invite viewers into a quiet, contemplative space, encouraging reflection on time, memory, and the interplay between image and text. His drawings, while personal in origin, carry a universal resonance-mapping the delicate terrain between life's fleeting moments and the enduring power of mark-making.