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Manuel Chavajay
Sem título | Untitled, 2023óleo queimado de motor marítimo e terrestre, aquarela e bordado sobre papel algodão
sea and land engine burnt oil, watercolor and embroidery on cotton paper170 x 107 cm | 66.93 x 42.13 inManuel Chavajay is an artist of Mayan Tz'utujil background, who uses artistic language to rescue and strengthen his ancestral culture. His research goes deep on the wisdom of the Mayan worldview, through spirituality and connection with nature, not only as vehicles for healing, but also as resistance to contemporary threats and memories of the past, marked by the violence of armed conflicts in Guatemala.Manuel Chavajay is an artist of Mayan Tz'utujil background, who uses artistic language to rescue and strengthen his ancestral culture. His research goes deep on the wisdom of the Mayan worldview, through spirituality and connection with nature, not only as vehicles for healing, but also as resistance to contemporary threats and memories of the past, marked by the violence of armed conflicts in Guatemala.He studied at Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas Rafael Rodríguez Padilla (Guatemala) and Institute for Training and Development, Amherst, Massachusetts (USA). Manuel Chavajay was the first indigenous artist to present a solo show at Museo de Arte Moderno Carlos Mérida, in Guatemala City. Among his most important projects are the ones at Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, Vienna (Austria), SIART Biennial, La Paz (Bolivia), Biennial of Visual Arts of the Central American Isthmus (Nicaragua), Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (USA), Centre Pompidou (France), National Gallery of Canada (Canada), International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Curitiba (Brazil) and La Bienal de Artes Visuales del Istmo Centroamericano (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador). His works feature in important collection, such as of Museo Ortiz Gurdián (Nicaragua), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Spain), Inter-American Development Bank (USA), National Museum of Ottawa (Canada), etc.Manuel Chavajay é artista de origem Maia Tz'utujil, que utiliza a linguagem artística para resgatar e fortalecer sua cultura ancestral. Sua pesquisa trabalha as sabedorias da cosmovisão Maia, através da espiritualidade e da conexão com a natureza, não apenas como veículos de cura, mas também como resistência às ameaças da contemporaneidade e às memórias de um passado marcado pela violência dos conflitos armados na Guatemala.
Estudou na Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas Rafael Rodríguez Padilla (Guatemala), e no Institute for Training and Development, Amherst, Massachusetts (EUA). Foi o primeiro artista indígena a apresentar uma exposição individual no Museo de Arte Moderno Carlos Mérida, na Cidade da Guatemala. Dentre as suas participações mais importantes, estão as exposições na Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, Vienna (Áustria), SIART Bienal, La Paz (Bolívia), Biennial of Visual Arts of the Central American Isthmus (Nicarágua), Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (EUA), Centre Pompidou (França), National Gallery of Canada (Canadá), Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporânea de Curitiba (Brasil) e La Bienal de Artes Visuales del Istmo Centroamericano (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá e El Salvador). Suas obras fazem figuram em coleções, como Museo Ortiz Gurdián (Nicarágua), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Espanha), Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento (EUA), National Museum of Ottawa (Canadá), etc.
