Tag: peru

Mujeres Muralistas Soi Noma in ‘The Precious Life of a Liquid Heart’ at the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art

This seven-foot painting on canvas by Soi Noma, a collective of female mural artists from the Shipibo-Conibo community in Lima, Peru adds a blast of color to the small but impactful group exhibition ‘The Precious Life of a Liquid Heart’ at the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art in Tribeca.  Addressing water crisis in Latin America and the spiritual importance of rivers and water bodies to indigenous communities, the show includes work by artists who decry environmental damage and others who focus on an appreciation of the natural world.  Soi Noma’s ‘Manifesto against Contamination’ mixes both approaches, employing kene, geometric patterns that express world views of the community, and images of animals to picture a come-back from contamination caused by oil companies. (On view through Feb 10th).

Mujeres Muralistas Soi Noma, Manifesto against Contamination, mixed media on canvas, triptych: 86 x 51 x 1/16 inches, 2022.

Arturo Kameya at GRIMM Gallery

Titled ‘The UFOs,’ Peruvian artist Arturo Kameya’s new show at Tribeca’s GRIMM Gallery conveys an otherworldly atmosphere through dark-toned paintings (made more subdued by mixing paint with clay powder) that tell strange tales.  A man buried alive attracts the attention of news crews in one image while an ancient Peruvian mummy emerges from a cooler bag in another.  Even the everyday can seem bizarre as a roach sits up, eating from a tiny plate in one picture while in another, a shower-head/water heater dangerously mixes water and electricity.  Here, a planter cut and painted to resemble a swan seems to come to life to sip water from a leaky hose that has morphed into a fountain, blurring the lines between the real and man-made nature. (On view through May 6th).

Arturo Kameya, Swan Lake, acrylic and clay powder on canvas, 29 5/8 x 25 5/8 x 1 ½ inches, 2023.

Claudia Martinez Garay at GRIMM Gallery

Lima and Amsterdam-based artist Claudia Martinez Garay constructs a complex image of Peruvian culture and history by combining images sourced through different means. In a piece now on view in her solo show at Grimm Gallery in Tribeca, a winged hybrid creature and stepped geometries inside a flat-topped pyramidal form bring to mind Peruvian mythologies and architectures.  In the foreground, academic drawings of native flora are mounted on aluminum, expanding representations of Peru into the gallery and into the realm of new understandings.  (On view through Oct 15th).

Claudia Martinez Garay, Ghost Kingdom, painted wall mural, sublimated print on aluminum (9 parts), steel stand (6 parts), 199 x 186 x 115 inches, 2022.

Celia Vasquez Yui at Salon94

Artist and activist Celia Vasquez Yui’s ceramic sculptures of animals in the Peruvian Amazon are arranged at Salon94 in a mini amphitheater, forming a gathering she calls the ‘Council of the Mother Spirits of the Animals.’ Speakers in the gallery play invocations sung by healers whose intention is to heal the assembled deer, monkeys, jaguars and other animals, encouraging them to hold their own against endangerment.  Here, two playful deer are ornamented with kene, elaborate abstract designs that speak to harmony in nature.  (On view on the Upper East Side through March 5th).

Celia Vasquez Yui, (right) Venado Blanco, coil-built pre-fire slip-painted clay and vegetal resins, 24 ¼ x 26 x 10 inches, 2020 and (left) Venado, coil-built pre-fire slip-painted clay and vegetal resins, 14 x 13 x 21 inches, 2021.

Jose-Carlos Martinat at Marc Straus Gallery

Peruvian artist Jose-Carlos Martinat transplants bold graphics from the streets of Lima into Marc Straus Gallery’s Lower East Side space in an impactful show that coincides with his country’s contentious election. Working in his signature technique, Martinat applies resin and fiberglass to outdoor walls that have been painted with political symbols and slogans, peeling away the paint in sheets that hang from the gallery ceiling or on the walls.  Here, a giant pencil originated as a message of support for former school teacher Pedro Castillo, the apparent winner of this month’s runoff.  (On view through June 30th.  Masks and social distancing required.)

Jose-Carlos Martinat, installation view at Marc Straus Gallery, June 2021.