LONDON.- Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery, London, is having a private viewing of In front of the lake, Antonio Pichillá’s first solo exhibition in Europe. This exhibition closely follows Inherited Threads, at Tate Modern, a new collection display of works by North and Latin American artists that were recently acquired by the institution, as well as Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín: Tejiendo El Paisaje, a video installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara.

For the exhibition opening this September at Elizabeth Xi Bauer, Pichillá will experiment with ways of hanging and displaying his works, including: hanging them from the ceiling; video installation; as well as utilising found objects from nature and alongside those that are man-made. As well as works created in his studio positioned near Lake Atitlán, Pichillá will spend time creating works for this upcoming exhibition in Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s artist studio, located next to the Deptford gallery.

The exhibition title is inspired by how central the water of Lake Atitlán is to life for Pichillá’s village in Guatemala. Its positioning in Mayan cosmology is that of a grandmother, who gives food, takes care of others, amongst another grandmotherly analogies. The artist's studio is beside Lake Atitlán, therefore it is no surprise that it is a source of great inspiration, not least with his Grandmother series of works. He is influenced by the rich history of textile making by the women of Guatemala, namely his mother who is a weaver. The exhibition and its title reflect the importance of this element as a source of life and energy to the artist, Guatemala, and humanity.

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”.

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. Pichillá is interested in the relationship between found natural objects, such as rocks and branches and his textile works, as well as man-made objects.

Two works which celebrate contemporary life juxtaposed with traditions of the Tz’utujil, are La Piedra De Sol (The Sun Stone) and Espantapajaro (Scarecrow). La Piedra De Sol (The Sun Stone) is inspired by a day in the Mayan calendar, B’atz (Knot) day, which celebrates beginning and ending, tying and untying, winding and unwinding, much like existence itself. It is also a healing mechanism too, like a necklace used by spirit guides today. Espantapajaro (Scarecrow) is inspired by scarecrows that the artist has seen, the handmade form that helps protect growing plants from birds. For the artist, it is an important part within the agricultural life cycle, especially early on when the crop is vulnerable at the beginning of February when the first rains fall. The work is made from found threads, textiles and pieces of wood creating a protective yet strange, menacing shape. The artist is interested in the relationship between bodies, memory, fabric, and identity.

In Pichillá’s Grandfather series (2014 – 2020) he reclaims textile art and examines his relationship with his mother, a weaver.

The artist explains, ‘’In San Pedro la Laguna, Sololá, a Maya Tz’utujil town, men’s trousers are made from white fabric with a pattern consisting of black vertical marks. Inspired by this pattern design, in these works I have incorporated fabrics dyed in red, black and yellow. Such colorful designs are uncommon, for those both those wearing and weaving them alike. My inclusion of these colours is a gesture to the four colours of corn. I start with the main pattern and then alter it and assemble it over the stretched canvas. From the perspective of western aesthetics, this technique might be perceived as resembling minimalist painting from the mid-twentieth century. Nevertheless, these pieces could be interpreted as a type of “intercultural abstraction” employing codes that arise from within their context of production.’’

Pichillá’s Grandmother series (2016 – 2020) connects him with generations of Guatemala’s Maya female weavers.

‘’Guatemala has an enormous cultural richness when it comes to textiles, and it is usually women who design and weave them. Their skills are transferred from generation to generation. The materials and tools used in the art of weaving fulfill fundamental functions. For example, the warping frame is essential for designing textiles. It consists of a flat wooden surface fitted with pegs. In the case of a backstrap loom, counting the threads, tying, and measuring them, is achieved by using one's fingers, thus conjoining the tool with the body,’’ Pichillá explains.

‘’Through these actions, I create works related to the warping frame. Over the surface of a canvas, I placed threads reaching different directions, joining various strands and fibres of maguey, and then wrapped them over a stretcher. For the textile pieces, I made braids using thread fringes, resembling a grandmother’s hairdo.’’

These works act as Pichillá’s tribute to Maya women as he explains, ‘’Currently, it is indigenous women who are resisting, protecting and embracing the use of traditional clothing in Guatemala’s Maya communities.’’

Later this year, Pichillá will launch a publication which explores his artistic practice to date as well as seminal works from his career. The publication includes an introduction by curator Alexia Tala; writings from curator Cecilia Fajardo Hill; anthropologist Maria Jacinta Xon; as well as an interview with the artist conducted by Pablo José Ramírez, a Curator at the Hammer Museum Curator and former Adjunct Curator of First Nations and Indigenous Art at Tate Modern.

Occurring in 2023 is the 22nd Biennial of Sesc_Videobrasil – Memory is an Editing Station. The 40-Year Special will feature works by Antonio Pichillá. Taking place at Sesc 24 de Maio, São Paulo, Brazil, from 18th October 2023 – 25th February 2024, the biennial is curated by Raphael Fonseca, from Brazil, and Renée Akitelek Mboya, from Kenya. As well as exhibiting artworks at Sesc_Videobrasil, Antonio Pichillá will participate in a biennial talk on 21st October, entitled Land, Rights and Indigenous Technologies. The talk is moderated by Amanda Carneiroa and participating speakers include Pamela Cevallos, Brook Andrew, and Amanda Carneiro.

Antonio Pichillá’s work is also currently on display at Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain. Communicating Vessels, which runs until the end of 2023, is an exhibition of the museum’s permanent collection which has been organised into episodes of varying interdisciplinary approaches and narratives, with artworks featured spanning from 1881 to the present day.

Antonio Pichillá (born 1982 in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala) lives and works in San Pedro La Laguna. Pichillá earned his BFA from the Rafael Rodríguez Padilla Art School in Guatemala City.

Antonio Pichillá: In front of the lake
September 29th, 2023 – November 11th, 2023
Private View: Thursday, 28th September, 2023