b. 1982, Guatemala
Antonio Pichillá focuses on the ever-developing connections between western contemporary art and the vernacular tradition of craft. Using natural materials Pichillá draws from Mayan epistemology to: “…restlessly look for a bond that integrate(s) with the environment as something inexact, uncodified. I struggle to give form to transitory states,” as he explains. Examining the ancient culture of his native Tz’utujil heritage and the postcolonial notion of a homogenous national identity, Pichillá’s works are an act of resistance to otherness and binary constructions of identity. Instead, his work celebrates the heterogeneity of everyday contemporary Tz’utujil life. From his studio at Lake Atitlán the artist's practice is driven by anthropological research into Guatemala’s urban and rural regions. In 2017 Pichillá received the Juannio Award an important recognition for Guatemalan artists. The artist participated in the 2002, 2010 and 2014 editions Bienal de Arte Paiz, Guatemala. In 2020 Pichillá work was exhibited in the Berlin Biennale. Pichillá’s work is in collections including Tate, London, UK; Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; Lars Romer Copenhagen, Denmark and Dexter Lelain San Francisco, USA.
Elizabeth Xi Bauer, Deptford
Elizabeth Xi Bauer, Exmouth Market