Eighteen young Peruvian artists are on display at the NIFA gallery. Curator Renu Khera discusses details on Peru’s culture and design aesthetics with Kritika Dua
They say you can judge a person by his shoe. And it is this metaphor that Peruvian artist Michael Yantas Merino uses to depict the stomping foot of a mechanised society that forces you to conform to its beat and groove. His shoe — complete with nuts, bolts and industrial wheels — cruises against a city skyline, almost like a submarine. The question is in our march towards a digitally homogenised society, are we comfortable in our own skin as we would be in our shoesIJ The artist has used the shoe as a symbol of our personality which is an ever-changing mechanism with time and experience.
Such thought-provoking statements were made by Peruvian artists at a group show. Graduates of the National Autonomous Superior School of Fine Arts, they displayed a rare maturity in their thought process and amalgamation of techniques, ranging from oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas to print and digital work. There were some lesser known techniques like wood-cutting, serigraphy and use of natural dyes.
Explaining the digital shoe, Renu Khera, MD, National Institute For Fine Arts (NIFA), who has been instrumental in putting together the exhibition, said, “It was first designed on a sketchpad. Then they added the colour themes and took it out as a digital print. The artist is showing the complete body machinery through the use of a shoe, where the sole rests and carries the weight of the human body. The type of shoe you wear and for what purpose can impact your whole personality and that personality can impact your life. The horse in the background shows that life is a race.”
Peru’s cultural identity is brimming with diversity, colour and creativity. As a racial melting pot of Hispanic and native American cultures, their self-expressions are layered, vibrant and contextual. “In each and every painting, you can see that the variety is related to culture, nature, landscapes, style of dressing, dancing and attitude of Peruvian people”, added Khera.
India and Peru may be far from each other but share some similarities in terms of culture and artistic expressions. “Both the countries have vibrant artworks. We believe in the beauty of detailing which can be seen in their works as well. Other similarities are realism and poignancy,” said Khera. But there are some differences as well, “out-of-the-box thinking being one of them.” They have composed abstracts and deconstructed portraits, one of them having destroyed the canvas of a completed work. We were taken by the futility of being a workhorse in the stark rendition of a dead bull. The colour spills are also indicative of their openness to touch upon the darker areas and repressed emotions. Most Indian artists are more into prettifying works.
Kher filtered these 19 paintings based on their maturity, strokeplay, colour composition, boldness and balance. She believes contemporary art should not be about limitation. We noticed an oil painting that had incorporated embroidery. Khera talked about the cultural exchange between both countries. “It was the proposal of the Embassy of Peru in India that we have a foundation of friendship. So we will promote their artworks in our galleries and we will take our Indian artists to theirs. In future, there is a possibility of collaboration between Indian and Peruvian artists.”
Now on to the paintings. Moche Authority by Pía ludeña Gutiérrez represents the innate strength of a woman. In acrylic and oil, it has a bold palette and very distinct strokeplays and tonalities that emphasise the warrior spirit. Phallus by Clara Best Núñez seems to be peering into your head and become one with your thought process. The hand embroidery merges with the painting rather seamlessly. New Map of lima by Betsabé Chiara Vargas uses serigraphy to convey its reinterpretation of the Peruvian capital. Abyss by Roberto Cáceres ludeña is an abstract with figures of a teacher and his pupil following a truck. This alludes to a journey of learning in which one faces ups and downs. In short, a window to understanding the minds of a geographically different people.