Oscar Murillo and the exhibition momentum of Collective Osmosis
Published on 08/20/2026 at 16:38 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Oscar Murillo has built a practice that threads painting, installation and participatory projects into a single, restless field. His recent exhibition Collective Osmosis in Potsdam underscores how he uses institutional space to test ideas of collectivity, landscape and visibility in concrete, material terms.
Exhibition arc from Potsdam
The exhibition Collective Osmosis at DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam and the Museum Barberini brought Oscar Murillo’s abstract paintings into direct dialogue with works by Claude Monet, staging contemporary mark making against Impressionist treatments of light and landscape. The project was conceived as a multi-part experiment in exchange, with indoor and outdoor installations that extended into the surrounding public space.
For this exhibition, Murillo developed new paintings linked to his ongoing series Surge, Scarred Spirits and Disrupted Frequencies, while also activating participatory elements such as a "collective painting" on the terrace at DAS MINSK that invited visitors to work on canvases based on his long-running Social mapping project. The show also marked the first collaboration between DAS MINSK and the Museum Barberini, signalling a strategic institutional partnership around his work.
Award-level recognition and reach
Murillo’s institutional visibility sits alongside earlier recognition such as his 2019 Turner Prize co-award, where he shared the prize with fellow nominees in a collective gesture that echoed his broader interest in solidarity and shared authorship. His more recent presence at major venues, from Castello di Rivoli to DAS MINSK and Museum Barberini, reflects how museums position his work at a level usually associated with prize-winning practices.
In parallel, Murillo’s participation in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice, further situates his work in a field of artists recognized for sustained engagement with political and social questions. The combination of biennial appearances, museum collaborations and previous award recognition gives his trajectory a consistency that collectors and institutions read as long-term stability rather than short-lived hype.
All news and background on Oscar Murillo
For further coverage of Oscar Murillo’s exhibitions, market moves and institutional projects, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers continuously updated context and analysis.
The work core and methods
Murillo’s practice moves between large-scale abstract paintings, installations and socially engaged projects that foreground mobility, migration and labor. His canvases often appear heavily worked, with layered marks, stitched surfaces and an attention to how materials carry traces of different geographies and temporalities.
Where the artist stands now
Oscar Murillo’s work continues to develop across institutional exhibitions, biennial presentations and gallery projects, with a particular emphasis on maintaining a dialog between studio-based abstraction and collaborative, socially embedded formats.
Key facts on Oscar Murillo
- Artist: Oscar Murillo
- Medium / Genre: Painting and installation (contemporary, socially engaged)
- Born: 1986, La Paila, Colombia
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice between London and global project sites
- Active since: Late 2000s, with wider institutional visibility from the early 2010s
- Key work groups: Surge, Scarred Spirits, Disrupted Frequencies, Social mapping
- Current/last exhibition: Collective Osmosis, DAS MINSK Kunsthaus and Museum Barberini, Potsdam
- Major collections: Prominent public collections in Europe and the Americas, including leading museums focused on contemporary art
- Awards: Turner Prize (co-winner, 2019)
- Next date: Currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Oscar Murillo
Where can I see Oscar Murillo’s work from the Collective Osmosis project?
Works from Collective Osmosis were presented at DAS MINSK Kunsthaus and Museum Barberini in Potsdam, where Murillo’s paintings entered into a curated dialogue with Claude Monet’s works. Further presentations may follow in related institutional contexts.
How does the Social mapping project function within Murillo’s exhibitions?
Murillo’s Social mapping involves participatory drawing on large-format canvases by different communities, which are later integrated into installations or collective paintings, as seen with the terrace project at DAS MINSK in Potsdam.
What distinguishes Oscar Murillo’s position among contemporary painters?
Murillo combines gestural abstraction with a sustained engagement in social and political issues, using both institutional exhibitions and participatory formats to address migration, labor and collective authorship, a combination that has secured him major prizes and biennial invitations.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
