Art, Sciences & Society
Critical and experimental practices in contemporary contexts
Julio Velasco is a Franco-Colombian visual artist and researcher based in Paris and Berlin. He holds a PhD in Arts and Art Sciences from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. His work explores friction zones between art, science, and society through experimental contemporary forms — installations, sound works, videos, AI and HTML-based animations.
His research focuses on:
- bio-art, botanical representations, critical ecology,
- uses and deconstruction of uses of AI,
- post-media approaches to sound practices,
- sensitive geographies of cities and transforming territories.
His artistic practice follows an experimental approach: anchored in analysis, open to instability, and questioning the very conditions of production and circulation of images and ideas. His works often emerge from long processes, documentary materials, or specific contexts — yet always aim to generate a sensory experience and an active reading of the present.
Through publications, seminars, and workshops, he links visual practice to a deep reflection on the mechanisms of contemporary art and its regimes of legitimation. This site presents a selection of projects, texts, collaborations, and ongoing research.
These creations include installations such as Les Voi.es.x de la carte (2023) and Noices of Water (2014), AI projects such as Bogota Hills (2025) or code research such Vices Boxes (2012). These artworks are echoed in publications such as Bio-Art: Varieties of the Living in Artworks from the Pre-modern to the Anthropocene (2024), L'artiste comme stratège. Topographie et création plastique contemporaine (2021) and Art and ecology: a necessary questioning (2018), wich explore themes of representation, ecology, and digital cultures.
Explore the Website
Bio-Art: Examines the relationship between art and living organisms, with particular attention to botanical illustration as a practice that bridges scientific and artistic knowledge. The section situates Velasco’s work within a historical and contemporary context, emphasizing methodological concerns.
Sound-Art: Investigates the role of sound beyond conventional artistic frameworks, focusing on its capacity to engage with cultural and social narratives such as migration and media saturation. This section reflects on sound as a medium of critical inquiry.
Art and AI: Explore la manière dont l'intelligence artificielle transforme les pratiques artistiques contemporaines. Velasco s'interroge sur la place de l'IA, entre simple instrument et agent créatif indépendant, en se concentrant sur son impact sur les processus esthétiques.
City & Art: Considers urban spaces, particularly artistic neighborhoods such as Berlin, as places where social and cultural dynamics intersect with artistic production. The work highlights the realities of artistic creation based on social spaces and the relationships that artists establish with them.
Other Projects: This section showcases a diverse range of Velasco’s creative and scholarly projects that don't neatly fit into other categories. From symposiums and artistic interventions to conceptual explorations, these works demonstrate his commitment to pushing the boundaries of art, technology, and society.
JV - Biography: Velasco's academic and artistic journey is marked by numerous research endeavors, collaborations, and contributions to contemporary art discourse. His biography page provides a detailed overview of his academic background, research projects, and significant exhibitions that have defined his career.