Ernesto Bautista

Born 1987 in Santa Ana, El Salvador.

Ernesto Bautista is an artist and filmmaker whose practice encompasses Expanded Cinema, installation, and writing. Focusing on memory, disappearance, and the politics of the image, his work explores the complex relationships between history, representation, and identity. Bautista lives and works across El Salvador, Colombia, and Bolivia, and is the co-founder of Burn and Die Films and The Fire Theory.

His work has been presented at institutions including the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Bogotá, and Ex Teresa Arte Actual in Mexico City. His works are held in major collections, including the Museo Reina Sofía and the Illy Art Collection in Venice.

Recent projects include Salvación, Open Doors, Locarno Film Festival (2024), La historia de la idea de Segundo Montes , The New York Latin American Art Triennial (2023), and La Única Memoria del Mundo Siempre Será el Silencio, developed as part of the 12th Colombian Antarctic Expedition within the Colombian Antarctic Art Program (PCAA, 2025–2026).

Bautista is the recipient of the Open Doors Award at the Locarno Film Festival and has participated in international residency and fellowship programs, including the ARCUS Project in Japan and the Fundación Ama Amoedo Fellowship in Uruguay. His solo exhibition at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Bogotá, curated by Eugenio Viola, will be presented in 2026.

His films have been presented across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, underscoring his international presence at the intersection of contemporary art and cinema.