Kené is an ancient art representing nature and the living culture of the Shipibo-Konibo people of the Amazon basin. “Kené means ‘designs’ and is the name for the geometric patterns that identify my ethnicity,” explains artist Olinda Silvano Inuma de Arias. “Kené…also summarizes the worldview, knowledge, and aesthetics of an entire people, their tradition and…
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Like many aspects of Peruvian life, Eleudora Jimenez’s retablos begin with deeply grounded religious faith and potatoes. Together with native plants, potato flour plaster, and the bountiful colors found throughout the Andean world, clear images of her world realize themselves through scenes that depict daily life to the sublime. Eleudora’s Ayacucho-style retablos, a craft taught…
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Many artists look to the past for creative inspiration, but certainly very few transform it in as literal a sense as the weavers of Hilos y Colores, the Ayacucho, Peru artist collective founded by Faustino Flores Meneses. In this rural area, artisans study ancient Wari textile, known for their geometric and sometimes whimsically anthropomorphic features,…
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Upon first glance, the brightly colored, graphic designs of AMAPOLAY look purely contemporary. Nevertheless, this Lima, Peru-based collective uses screen-printing—a technique with ancient origins—along with deeply traditional motifs and references rendered in eye-catching color and scale–to raise awareness about Lima’s now-urban indigenous populations. Lima’s vibrant gráfica popular tradition comes from working class immigrant neighborhoods and…
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Intricately detailed and often ecstatically colorful, the textiles produced by Cusco, Peru-based artisan Timoteo Ccarita Sacaca and his team of weavers are remarkable for their creativity and beauty. For centuries, this region’s distinctive garments identified their wearers by gender, marital status, and their community roles. Ponchos, for instance, perhaps the most recognizable Andean garment, were…
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From tasseled, brightly colored hat bands to ceremonial ponchos, Peru’s Association of Weavers Q’ero offers a veritable feast of exquisitely detailed, beautifully crafted woven items. Nestled in an Andean highland region, the Hatan Q’ero indigenous group is a Quechua-speaking community with roots in rural areas surrounding Cusco. Weaving is integral to the Q’ero way of…
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Ceramicist Artemio Poma Gutiérrez, a member of Peru’s Quinoa group in the Ayacucho region of Peru, has an elegant, distinctive style of creating a style of pottery that has been characteristic of this region for many hundreds of years. Raised in a family of artisans, Artemio started experimenting with art-making as a child by assisting…
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Peruvian artisan Lider Rivera Matos, a lifelong citizen of Lima, Peru, makes jewelry and home goods using a material you might not be familiar with: cow horn. Merging ancient tradition with new techniques and contemporary designs, Matos’ instantly recognizable style is rivaled only by the uniqueness of his material. Matos’ works are sustainable, since he…
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Hailing from a long line of “retablistas” or sculptors of traditional, diorama-like artworks known as retablos, Claudio Jimenez Quispe was born in the mountainous Andean region of Ayacucho, Peru. As a young boy, Quispe was eager to try his hand at creating retablos. Claudio’s father was well-known in the area for his elaborately carved religious…
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The city of Cusco, Peru is truly a melting pot. Not only is it home to a wide range of indigenous peoples, it also embraces Spanish design influences from hundreds of years ago. Cusco is home to master artisan Hilda Cachi, who, along with a creative workshop split almost evenly between men and women, creates…
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Non-profit weaving cooperative El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC) employs hundreds of highly skilled artisans in the historically and culturally diverse city of Cusco, Peru. CTTC was established in 1996 by Andean weavers and their supporters to ensure the survival of Andean textile traditions and to provide support to weaving communities in areas…
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