Mximo Laura

Tapestry Collection / Coleccin de Tapices

 MAXIMO LAURA
Coleccin de Tapices
Mximo Laura Taboada
Derechos reservados de esta edicin:
Museo Mximo Laura S.A.C.
Urbanizacin Brisas de Santa Rosa 3ra Etapa,
Mz. I, Lote 17, San Martin de Porres, Lima Per
Tlf: (51 1) 577 0952
web: www.museomaximolaura.com
e-mail: info@museomaximolaura.com
Direccin Editorial:
Karin Aguilar Medina
Asesor Editorial:
Rubn Quiroz vila
Diseo de Portada y libro:
Carlos Alexander Veliz Yactayo
Traduccin:
Banu Valladares y Susanne Alexander
Fotografa:
Humberto Valdivia
Tapiz de Portada:
Cantata al Jaguar, 2008
Primera Edicin: Octubre, 2014
Tiraje: 1000 ejemplares
Hecho el Depsito Legal en la Biblioteca Nacional del Per N 2014-15228
ISBN N 978-612-46816-0-8
Est prohibida la reproduccin total o parcial de esta obra por cualquier
medio sin previa autorizacin escrita del autor y del editor.
Hecho e Impreso en el Per

 MAXIMO LAURA
Tapestry Collection
Mximo Laura Taboada
Copyright of this Edition:
Museo Mximo Laura S.A.C.
Urbanizacin Brisas de Santa Rosa 3ra Etapa,
Mz. I, Lote 17, San Martin de Porres, Lima Per
Tlf: (51 1) 577 0952
web: www.museomaximolaura.com
e-mail: info@museomaximolaura.com
Mananging Editor:
Karin Aguilar Medina
Editorial Advisory:
Rubn Quiroz vila
Cover & Book Designer:
Carlos Alexander Veliz Yactayo
Translation:
Banu Valladares and Susanne Alexander
Photography:
Humberto Valdivia
Cover Tapestry:
Chant to the Jaguar, 2008
First Edition:
October 2014, Consists of 1000 copies
Legal Deposit No 2014-15228 made in National Library of Peru
ISBN N 978-612-46816-0-8
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, without written permission of the author and the editor.
Made and Printed in Peru

Con el mayor aprecio y agradecimiento a Peter Illi,

mi amigo, promotor y coleccionista.

With deepest appreciation and thanks to Peter Illi,

my friend, promoter and collector.

La primera vez que llegu a Lima, siendo una nia ya hace muchos aos, no
saba que mi vida iba a cambiar para siempre. Per me mostr su magnificencia
en partes: hilando, enrollando y tejiendo su camino a mi corazn como los hilos
y colores que usa Mximo Laura. De ese modo se fue construyendo, felizmente,
un nido a donde pudiera regresar cuando el mundo exterior sea espinoso y
necesitara un lugar que me reconfortara.
Tampoco saba que a diez horas por carretera, en Ayacucho, un pueblo pequeo
del sur de los Andes, un nio nacido en una familia de artesanos se convertira
en uno de los artistas prominentes de Sudamrica. Reconocido, admirado y
respetado en todo el mundo. Y que aos despus se convertira en mi querido
amigo y entraable colega quien enriquecera mi vida. Adems, de quien recibira
muchas lecciones valiosas a travs de nuestro trabajo conjunto.

PRESENTACIN
Viajamos para aprender, no para ensear
Mary McInnes

Conservando la cultura:
Un tapiz a la vez
(1)

La juventud de Mximo Laura fue muy diferente de la ma. Fui a una escuela
privada y almorzaba todos los domingos en el Club de Golf de Lima. Pas mis
veranos nadando en el Country Club de San Isidro. Mi vida social inclua clubes
a media luz donde iba a bailar con amigos y donde las jvenes de buenas
familias tomaban solo chilcano de Guinda. Mis obsesiones estaban referidas a
la ropa que vesta y cmo luca. Mi vida era la escuela, las fiestas privadas, el
bailar en los clubes, los almuerzos y ts deliciosos en las casas de los amigos.
Tambin nadar en el club y en las playas donde solo los dueos de casas de playa
podan baarse ni las sirvientas, ni los choferes, ni los jardineros, ni ningn
otro tipo de empleado tenan acceso a ese privilegio- ropas y compras en San
Isidro, Miraflores o en el Centro de Lima y su clebre Jirn de la Unin. Viv en
una burbuja por muchos aos. Todo lo que yo crea que necesitaba o que iba a
necesitar estaba en esa burbuja.
Aprendera al pasar el tiempo que Per era afamado fuera del pas por sus
exquisitos tapices y arte tradicional, pero yo no vea stos en las casas de mis
amigos ni en las tiendas que visitaba. En ocasiones muy raras, una mujer siempre
cargando un beb, agarrando de la mano a uno o dos nios pequeos, vistiendo
ropa diferente y luciendo triste y perdida, estaba parada en la acera de una
calle donde yo me encontraba. Yo no descubrira a Gamarra, el Barrio Chino, el
Mercado Central, los museos maravillosos, las galeras y los teatros, los mercados
en los vecindarios y los pequeos locales donde se poda disfrutar comida y otras
maravillas exquisitas ms all de mi burbuja de Lima, sino aos despus. Luego
que comenc a entender cun privilegiada era mi vida.
Al pasar los aos, poco a poco comenc a mirar de manera diferente en lugar
de solo ver a esas mujeres paradas en la acera que parecan tristes y perdidas.
Lo pude hacer cuando otras mujeres como ellas empezaron a tocar la puerta
de mi casa, pidiendo leche para darles a sus bebs. El cambio de ver a mirar
abri mi mente y mi corazn a muchas preguntas, intereses, bsquedas y a la
consideracin de quin era yo, en quien me quera convertir y cunto quera
escaparme de esa pompa.
Mximo Laura estaba encaminado en otras cosas. Siendo un joven, ya saba quin
era y quin quera ser. Habiendo crecido en una realidad totalmente distinta,
muy lejos de la vida privilegiada de algunos que vivan en Lima; organizando
en comunidad a los nios de su vecindario, dirigiendo a equipos de deportes y
compartiendo sus habilidades de teatro, poesa y pintura.

10

Nacido en 1959 en Ayacucho, la capital del antiguo Imperio Wari, sus actividades
cuando de nio y adolescente incluyeron solazarse con juguetes hechos de latas
de metal viejas, pelotas de trapo o plstico, reciclaje de peridicos, calcetines y
cintas de pelculas transformados en juguetera, palos y otros materiales naturales
que l y sus amigos encontraban en su entorno. Mximo celebraba las estaciones
en fiestas en los que bailaba con gracia y con alegra desinhibida, vestido con una
combinacin de colores del arco iris. Nuestro artista honraba al sol, la luna, las
estrellas y la Pachamama (madre tierra), beba chicha (cerveza de maz) y coma
lo que su madre, doa Eusebia Josefa Taboada Flores, cultivaba en su bella
huerta con cario, y tambin lo que ella poda encontrar en los mercados donde
los lugareos se juntaban para intercambiar y vender sus productos del campo
y otros artculos.
El padre de Mximo, don Miguel Laura Pacheco, era un maestro tejedor y
msico, muy respetado en su comunidad por su trabajo meticuloso. Adems
por su dedicacin a ensearles a sus hijos la disciplina, la responsabilidad y la
curiosidad. l foment su creatividad, inteligencia e imaginacin relatndoles
cuentos antiguos cuando se iban a dormir, esto, por supuesto, les encantaba
abrindoles en sus mentes jvenes las puertas a otros mundos. No poda saber
que un da yo comprara muchas de las frazadas bellas de don Miguel en un
mercado en Lima frazadas hechas de lana hilada y teida a mano lana de
hilados y vellones que Mximo, seguramente, haba lavado con cuidado hasta
que estuvieran limpios en un ro cristalino a unos cuantos kilmetros de su casa,
y que l haba preparado para que doa Josefa hile los vellones en una puchka
(huso para hilar) y teir todo el material para los tejidos de don Miguel.
En esa poca, los nombres de los tejedores no estaban incluidos en sus trabajos.
Los creadores eran annimos personas sin nombre ni rostros que vivan en
algn lugar en los Andes-, la cual era, segn mis amigos, una regin escondida,
un poco aterradora, intimidante y peligrosa en algn lugar bien lejos de mi
cmoda burbuja.
El juego y el trabajo se integraban coherentemente en la vida de Mximo. A
los nueve aos cambi de juguetear a integrarse en el taller de don Miguel y a
participar activamente en el trabajo de teir la lana y tejerla. Trabajaba desde
el amanecer, haciendo quehaceres de la casa y luego en el taller, tejiendo piezas
pequeas de diseos simples por las cuales reciba una propina de su padre, ya
que don Miguel empezaba sus labores muy temprano.
Mientras Mximo aprenda su oficio al lado de don Miguel, yo estaba empezando
a visitar los museos de Lima y a viajar por el pas con mi madre. Lo que aprend
fue que los descendientes actuales de los Incas viven, en muchos aspectos,
como si los espaoles nunca hubieran llegado. El siglo XXI es el presente solo
en los pueblos grandes y en las ciudades. Los habitantes de las villas y pueblos
pequeos an rocan chicha y la hoja sagrada de coca(2) sobre la Pachamama.
Es ms, trabajan la tierra en muchas de las mismas maneras que sus familias lo
han hecho por generaciones. Tejen en telares de cintura y trenzan textiles casi
idnticos a los que se encuentran en tumbas de hace miles aos y visten una
combinacin de trajes de antes de la conquista y ropajes coloniales espaoles,
hechos meticulosa y exquisitamente con adornos bellos. Cuando viaj y estuve
entre esta gente, vi sus trabajos en los museos, sent que estaba en contacto con
algo extraordinario y duradero ms all de cualquier otra cosa que haba sentido
antes en mi vida.

Descubr, como muchos lo han hecho antes que yo, que Per es un museo al
aire libre de aventuras culturales y artsticas; estimulante para todas las mentes
curiosas. Entre ellos haban algunos miembros del Movimiento de Arte Moderno
quienes haban visitado Per y lo haban encontrado inspirador. Uno de los
centros ms antiguos de las civilizaciones, se desarroll lejos de los intercambios
culturales que ocurran entre los continentes de frica, Asia y Europa. Esto molde
el papel importante que desempearon la fibra, los tintes y los textiles en el Per
antiguo y an practican en las comunidades tradicionales peruanas, as como
en el trabajo de los artistas contemporneos peruanos, especialmente, como lo
comprob en mi visita a la Casa-Taller del artista contemporneo Mximo Laura.
Antes de que mi familia regresara a Canad tuve la buena fortuna de visitar una
gran parte del pas con mi mam. Entonces la burbuja se revent. Y yo emerg
de ella encantada por lo que haba visto y aprendido pero tambin con el corazn
roto porque nos bamos a ir de Per al momento justo cuando sus encantos se
estaban convirtiendo visibles para m. Para mi gran alegra, la ausencia solo tom
un ao, pero durante ese tiempo aor profundamente a ese pas y lo que haba
empezado a aprender ah.
Cuando regres a Per desarroll una pasin por el tejido y aprend lo bsico en
las villas a las afueras de Lima. Despus regresamos a Canad para siempre.
Un cambio significativo en mi vida muchos aos despus se convirti en una
bendicin cuando tuve que dejar de tejer. Mi cuerpo no cooperaba ms con el
difcil trabajo que requiere ello. Fue entonces que regres a Per a sumergirme
junto a otras personas de diferentes pases en las tradiciones de esta nacin
encantadora. Comenc a organizar recorridos de textiles y fue, a travs de esta
iniciativa, que conoc y empec a trabajar con Mximo Laura.
Mximo haba, para ese entonces, creado su propio Estudio/Taller en Lima al cual
se mud despus de aos de estudios y aventuras. Estos lo haban llevado del
tejer en el taller de su padre en Ayacucho, a la Capital, donde estudi Literatura
Hispnica en la Universidad durante un tiempo de mucha agitacin social y
poltica en el pas. Escribi poesa. Estudi historia del arte europeo y devor
todos los textos de este tema que pudo permitirse en las bibliotecas y, adems,
compr libros de segunda mano. Se ganaba la vida vendiendo sus tejidos y
administrando una pequea empresa de exportaciones. Haba estado dando
expresin a su cultura a travs de la recreacin de la iconografa precolombina
peruana por muchos aos y de ese modo llegado al punto donde necesitaba
extender su taller para satisfacer la demanda por su trabajo. Para ello trajo a
otros tejedores de Ayacucho a Lima, incluyendo a miembros de su clan familiar,
le facilit as satisfacer esas demandas y, bajo su direccin, creacin y su atencin
cuidadosa, su Estudio/Taller creci y prosper. Para Mximo, esto ya no era ms
un juego o las propinas de su padre, y la disciplina que aprendi de don Miguel
le facilit empezar a producir suficiente trabajo para mantener a su familia. Pero
tambin darle el tiempo y el espacio necesarios para desarrollar su propio estilo
e investigar su propia tcnica la cual haba estado latente por varios aos y
comenz a perfeccionarla.
Le apasionaban los relatos histricos y antropolgicos del pasado de Per.
Empez a coleccionar motivos e iconografas andinas en todas sus formas
desde tallados antiguos en piedra hasta los logotipos de publicidad- los cuales
aadi a su creciente y amplia biblioteca que alimentaba su pasin.
11

Lo que empez a emerger de los telares de Mximo viajara alrededor del mundo,
ganando medallas y admiradores, incluyendo a otros artistas de muchos pases.
Los coleccionistas empezaron a comprar su trabajo, el cual se exhibe en las
paredes de museos, en las oficinas de corporaciones y en embajadas. Se convirti
en uno de los ms exitosos embajadores en el exterior. Cuando otros empezaron
a emular su obra, lo referan como estilo De la Escuela de Mximo Laura.
Como usted ver en las reproducciones de este libro, Laura est profundamente
conectado a su cultura y a la cosmovisin del mundo que sus ancestros heredaron
a los andinos contemporneos, la cual Mximo transforma a su propia visin. No
es solo un Maestro Tejedor, un logro de por s, sino es un Artista Contemporneo.
As expresa su cultura a travs de su obra, usando un material que tiene miles
de aos en su pas natal el hilo de alpacas, iconografas milenarias- con una
propuesta y expresin contemporneas. l teje en su telar y lo que aparecen
son sus peces, sus cndores, sus colibres y otras criaturas con alas, sus llamas
y alpacas, sus tortugas, la hoja sagrada de coca, las criaturas mgicas y mticas
y los seres espirituales de su mundo interior y el de sus ancestros interpretados
para nosotros en una forma nueva y extraordinaria. Usando tcnicas de tejido
que desarroll y las cuales solo alguien que entiende cmo tener un dilogo y
cmo lograr que una mariposa hecha de numerosos hilos de diferentes colores,
puedan, como imgenes, cobrar vida y nos hablen. Es un maestro del color y
fascinado por ste. Adems exige mucho de nosotros porque nos requiere que
no solo veamos sino que miremos y sintamos profundamente.
Empezamos a entender que estamos en la presencia de una obra acerca del
balance impecable, de la armona y el espritu, y que emana poesa, lirismo
y celebracin de la vida misma. Uno puede fcilmente ver a Laura como un
dedicado ambientalista por su sincera dedicacin a la Pachamama y a todo lo
que es parte de ella. Todo ello es muy evidente en su iconografa y su paleta. De
ese modo lo que hace y lo que crea tiene sentido y busca alcanzar el balance, la
armona y lo espiritual.
Mximo Laura posee otros dones transmitidos por sus antepasados. El cree
profundamente en la prctica tradicional del Ayni, un trmino quechua que
significa reciprocidad, generosidad y el construir relaciones. Est comprometido
y dedicado a su pas y su gente. Tambin est firmemente establecido all, esto lo
demuestra con casi todo lo que hace. Expresa su consagracin al Ayni ensendole
a otros lo que sabe. Mximo viaja frecuentemente por el Per a comunidades
aisladas para ensear a los nios y a los jvenes a tejer, con la intencin de usar
este medio para conservar la cultura y proveerles otro medio de mantener a sus
familias. Busca a tejedores que trabajan en forma aislada y los anima a entrar
a concursos, a crear obras para exhibiciones y a seguir profesionalizndose. Es
decir, les ensea a desafiar los retos que encuentran, como un maestro de Aikido,
dndole la vuelta a los obstculos en lugar de tropezarse con ellos.
El tejer es una expresin importante de una cultura. Uno puede entender al
Per an ms a travs de sus textiles y de sus artes tradicionales. Pero como
muchas culturas indgenas alrededor del mundo, corren peligro de extinguirse
por la globalizacin y la mecanizacin. Tambin el Per ha sobrevivido a sus
propios conflictos los cuales han amenazado las tradiciones culturales. Por esto,
el maestro Mximo, inaugur un Museo en el Cusco en octubre del 2013 para
exponer parte de su abundante y hermosa coleccin privada, y tambin la de
tejedores peruanos que trabajan en el anonimato.

12

Este ao tambin abri un segundo taller en su ciudad natal en Ayacucho para

que los tejedores no tengan que emigrar a la capital del pas o salir de sus
pueblos, donde tambin se dedican a cultivar la tierra y no desintegren a sus
familias.
Por su dedicacin a los otros, Mximo recibi un reconocimiento del pas como
Tesoro Humano Viviente de la Nacin, honor recomendado a los Estados
Miembros por la UNESCO. Tambin ha recibido el premio Manos de Oro, honra
que lo llena a l y a todos los que lo conocen de orgullo. Igualmente el Premio
UNESCO para Amrica Latina y el Caribe adems de numerosos galardones y
distinciones dentro y fuera del Per. Tambin es considerado como Gran Maestro
y Amauta(3) en su pas.
No es solo con su propia gente con quien comparte el Ayni. Dos veces al ao,
un grupo de visitantes de todas partes del mundo llegan al Per a participar en
talleres de Puchka Per- Tour Textil, estos incluyen el trabajar de manera intensa
con Mximo y otros maestros artesanos peruanos. Otros vienen a visitar los
estudios de los amigos y colegas de Mximo en la regin de su hogar, Ayacucho.
Por diecisiete aos Mximo ha puesto su trabajo a un lado para dedicar tiempo
a los visitantes de otras culturas. Estos intercambios culturales han enriquecido
muchas vidas y han cultivado la creatividad y la imaginacin de un gran nmero
de visitantes al Per. Es el maestro ms generoso. Cuando me jubil de manejar
la gira Puchka Per en el 2013, Mximo lo asumi porque cree profundamente
en la magia que ocurre cuando las personas de diferentes culturas se juntan, no
para pelear sino para crear belleza, amistad y entendimiento mutuo.
Este deseo, esta disposicin y este placer de compartir su conocimiento lo han
llevado a muchos pases en su propio hemisferio y a Europa, al Reino Unido y a
los Estados Unidos, a exhibir su obra, participar en conferencias, dar charlas y a
ensear. Casi nunca rechaza una invitacin para hablar en eventos acerca de su
arte, de su pas y de su gente. Todos nos enriquecemos significativamente por su
prctica del Ayni con nosotros.
La intencin de Mximo es crear relaciones que traspasan las barreras y las
diferencias. Usando una frase de una amiga nuestra, Melanie Ebertz de Art
Andes, l hace esto conservando la cultura en cada tapiz a la vez.
En conclusin, algunas personas dicen que an estoy obsesionada por la ropa
que visto pero ahora lo que uso y cuelgo en las paredes de mi casa es alpaca
peruana y algodn pima. Por eso lo que exhibo en cada estante y mesa es el arte
tradicional peruano y eso, a mi manera de ver, es progreso!

Sasha McInnes

Victoria, Columbia Britnica

Canad
30 de agosto de 2014 (Da de los Desaparecidos designado por la Naciones Unidas)

(1) Una frase reproducida de Melanie Ebertz de la galera Art Andes.

Notas

(2) La coca es un elemento vitalmente importante en la religin y la sociedad andina. Se

ha usado en los Andes por miles de aos y es parte integral vida andina. Se encuentra en
cada festival, rito tradicional, cada intercambio social y econmico, aparte de sus muchos
usos medicinales.
La hoja de coca NO es una droga. Controversial si es, pero est mal entendida. La cocana
es para la coca como el marfil es para los elefantes: un derivado y muy diferente a su
original. La cocana se obtiene extrayendo qumicamente el alcaloideo principal de la hoja
de coca y botando el resto. La mayora de las personas que usan cocana abusan y sus
efectos son entonces txicos y adictivos. La hoja de coca contiene un complejo de catorce
alcaloideos, cantidades significantes de vitaminas A y E, adems de hierro, potasio, calcio
(y mucho sodio, incidentalmente), y otros minerales en cantidades insignificantes (Fuente:
The Incredible Leaf - La Hoja Increble, Cochabamba, 1992). Ayuda a mantener los niveles
del azcar de la sangre balanceados cuando el consumo de la protena es bajo lo cual es
una de las razones de su popularidad entre los habitantes de las alturas. Tambin dicen
que regula el ritmo del corazn en los cambios de altitud que uno sufre cuando viaja a los
Andes.
(3) En la poca de los Incas haba un grupo de personas especiales, veneradas y apreciadas
que se llamaban Amautas (hombres sabios, maestros) las cuales tenan una misin
importante: mantener las crnicas de las ciudades para ensear el civismo y la teologa. Un
Amauta era un recitador de la historia, un creador de poesa. Ellos eran una inspiracin para
otros. Ellos organizaban festivales solemnes y eventos festivos. Ellos le ofrecan su felicidad
y energa positiva a la gente. Su trabajo era de gran honor. Un Amauta era escogido por el
Gran Espritu para seguir un camino especial, empezando como aprendiz y luego, siendo
iniciado por otro Amauta en un ritual antiguo.
La humildad y la sencillez tanto como la habilidad y dedicacin a abrir sus corazones a
todos eran sus caractersticas principales. Un Amauta escucha a todos de la misma manera
y su conocimiento es compartido con todos. Sus pasos y acciones estn guiados por los
ancestros y el Gran Espritu. Amauta es la unin del cielo y la tierra, es el lazo entre todos
los seres. Es el balance y la fuerza que existe en todos nosotros en nuestro estado de ser
puro. Amauta quiere decir: ella o l quien ama a todos sin distinguir la raza, la creencia, la
clase social o el color de piel. Un Amauta es un cono de la tierra de Amrica Latina. Ella o
l representa la sabidura, la historia y el gran logro magisterial.

13

that my life would be forever changed. Peru would display its magnificence to me
and colours used by Maximo Laura, happily making a nest there for me to return
to when the world outside became too much and I needed consolation from it.
in the southern Andes, a boy had been born into a family of artisans who would
and respected around the world, and who, in the years ahead, would become a
very close and beloved friend and colleague who would enrich my life, and from
whom I would receive many valuable lessons through our work together.
Maximo Laura lived very differently in his youth than I did. I went to a private
school and had lunch every Sunday at the Lima Golf Club. I spent my summers
swimming at the San Isidro Country Club. As I grew up, my social life included
clubs with dim lights where I would go to dance with my friends and where
young women from good families drank only Chilcano de Guinda. My obsessions
were with how I looked and what I wore. School, private parties, dancing in the
clubs, delicious lunches and teas at the homes of friends, swimming at the club
and at the beaches where only the owners of beach houses were permitted to
swim - no maids, chauffeurs, gardeners or servants of any kind permitted that
pleasure - clothes and shopping in San Isidro, Miraflores or downtown on Jiron
de la Union was my life. I lived in a bubble for many years; everything I believed
I would ever need or want was in that bubble.

PRESENTATION
We travel to learn, not to teach
Mary McInnes

Preserving Culture One

Tapestry at a Time
(1)

I would learn over time that Peru was famous outside of the country for its
in the shops I visited. On very rare occasions, a woman - often carrying a baby
in her arms, her hands holding 1 or 2 toddlers - wearing different garments
and looking sad and lost would be standing on the sidewalk of a road I was
on. Gamarra, the Barrio Chino, the Mercado Central, the wonderful museums,
galleries and theatres, the neighbourhood markets and the little holes in the walls
where delicious delicacies could be enjoyed and the many extraordinary wonders
beyond my bubble of Lima would come years later - after I began to understand
Peru and how very privileged my life was.
Over the years I slowly began to see rather than just to look at, those women
standing on the sidewalk appearing sad and lost, when other women like them
began to knock on the door to my home, asking for milk to feed their babies.
Moving from looking to seeing opened my mind and heart to many questions,
interests, pursuits and a consideration of who I was, who I wanted to become
and how very much I wanted to break out of that bubble.
Maximo Laura was focused on other things. As a young adult he knew already who
he was and who he wanted to become, growing up in an entirely different reality
far away from the privileged life of some who lived in Lima; doing community
organizing with children in his neighbourhood, leading sports teams and sharing
life skills.
Born in 1959 in Ayacucho, the capital of the ancient Wari/Huari Empire, his
activities as a youngster included playing with his friends. Old tin cans, balls
made from discarded cloth or plastic, recycled newspapers and socks, sticks in all
shapes and sizes, along with other discarded or natural things he and his friends

14

found along the way, were their toys; he celebrated the seasons at festivals
where he would dance with abandon and uninhibited joy, dressed in a rainbow of
colourways; he honoured the sun, the moon, the stars and Pachamama (mother
earth); he drank Chicha (corn beer) and ate what was grown by his mother, Dona
Eusebia Josefa Taboada Flores, in her beautiful and lovingly tended huerta
(vegetable garden) and also what she was able to find in the markets where the
locals joined together to barter their produce and other goods.
highly respected in his community for his meticulous work and his dedication to
teaching his children discipline, responsibility and curiosity about all things. He
nurtured their creativity, intelligence and imagination by telling them ancient
stories when the sun went to bed, which held them entranced and opened worlds
in those young minds. I could not know then that one day I would buy several
spun/dyed wool - wool from fleeces which Maximo had likely carefully washed
until clean in a river a few kilometers from his home and made ready to be spun
At the time, the names of the weavers were not included on their work; the
makers were anonymous - nameless, faceless people who lived somewhere in
the Andes, in the Sierra and which was, according to my friends, that somewhat
scary, intimidating and dangerous nether-land somewhere well outside of my
comfortable bubble.

to participating in the work of dyeing the yarn and weaving it. He was awake and
working before the sun appeared, doing chores in the workshop, preparing it for
received a tip from his father.
While Maximo was learning his craft at the side of Don Miguel, I was beginning to
visit the Lima museums and travel the country with my mother. What I learned
was that the modern descendants of the Inca live, in many respects, as if the
Spanish had never arrived. The twenty-first century is present only in large
towns and cities. Residents of villages and small towns still sprinkle chicha and
the sacred coca leaf(2) to Pachamama, work the land in much the same ways
as their families have for generations; weave on back-strap looms and braid
textiles almost identical to ones found in ten-thousand-year-old tombs; and wear
a combination of pre- conquest and Spanish Colonial dress, meticulously and
exquisitely made, with beautiful embellishments. When I traveled among these
people and saw their work in Museums I felt that I was in touch with something
extraordinary and enduring beyond anything I had experienced before.
I discovered, as many others have done before me, that Peru is an open air
museum of cultural and artistic adventure, exhilarating to all inquisitive minds;
among them had been members of the Modern Art Movement who had visited
civilizations, it developed far from the intercultural exchanges that took place
between the African, Asian and European continents. This shaped the important
role fibres, dyes and textiles played in ancient Peru and still play in traditional
Peruvian communities and in the studio of contemporary Peruvian artists, most
especially, in my view, in the studio of Contemporary Artist, Maximo Laura.

Before my family returned to Canada I had the good fortune to visit much of the
country with my mother, the bubble burst, and I emerged from it entranced by
what I had been seeing and experiencing but also with a broken heart that we
it turned out and much to my joy, the absence only lasted one year but during
that year I pined deeply for Peru and what I had begun to learn there.
When we returned to Peru I developed a passion for weaving and learned the
basics from anyone who would teach me in villages outside of Lima. And then we
returned to Canada for good.
A significant change in my life many years later, turned into a blessing when I
had to stop weaving. My body was no longer cooperating with the hard work that
weaving requires of it; and it was then that I returned to Peru again to immerse
myself and others from abroad in the textile traditions of this enchanting country.
I began to organize textile tours and it was through this initiative that I met and
began to work with Maximo Laura.
Maximo had, by then, created his own studio/workshop in Lima where he moved
after years of study and adventures. These had taken him from weaving some
Literature at university during a time of much social and political upheaval in
the country. He wrote poetry. He studied European Art History and devoured
all the books on this subject that he could find in libraries and could afford to
buy at second hand bookshops. He made ends meet by selling his weavings and
managing a small export company. He had been expressing his culture through
simple iconography for many years and had reached the point where he needed
to expand his workshop in order to meet the demand for his work. Bringing other
weavers to Lima from Ayacucho, including members of his extended family clan,
made it possible to meet those demands and under his watchful eye and careful
attention, his workshop and studio continued to grow and prosper. This was no
longer play or tips from his father for Maximo and the discipline he learned from
Don Miguel made it possible for him to begin producing enough work to support
his family and give him the time and space required to develop his own style
which had been simmering inside for some years.
past and began a collection of Andean motifs on everything from ancient stone
carvings, to advertising logos to add to his ever expanding library of books and
resources that nourished his passion.
What began emerging from the looms of Maximo would travel around the world,
earning medals, acclaim and a following of admirers, including other artists, from
many nations. Collectors wait eagerly for each new series; it hangs on the walls
most successful Ambassadors abroad. When other weavers in his country began
emulating his work and techniques, their work became known as From the
School of Maximo Laura.
As you will see from the reproductions in this book, Maximo is grounded in his
culture and the worldview his ancestors left to contemporary Andean peoples
and which Maximo re-creates as his own. He is not only a Master Weaver, an
accomplishment in itself, he is a Contemporary Artist expressing his culture through
his work, using material and iconography that are thousands of years old in his
native land. He weaves alpaca threads at his loom and what appears are his fish,
15

his condor, his hummingbird and other winged creatures, his llamas and alpacas,
his frogs, his turtles, the sacred coca leaf, the magical and mythical creatures and
spiritual beings of his inner world and that of his ancestors - interpreted for us in
a new and extraordinary way. Using weaving techniques he developed and which,
only someone who understands how to have a conversation and collaboration
with a butterfly made from numerous differently coloured threads, can do, these
images come alive and speak to us. He is a master colourist, fascinated by it and
very demanding of himself; and demanding of us as well as it requires that we
not only look but that we see and feel deeply.
We begin to understand that we are in the presence of work that is about
unrelenting balance, harmony and spirit and which emanates poetry, lyricism
and a celebration of life itself. One can easily see Maximo as a dedicated
environmentalist because his sincere commitment to Pachamama and everything
on Her is very evident in his iconography and palette. Everything he creates and
everything he does is with intention, and is about achieving balance, harmony and
spirit and being grounded there, in his culture and the worldview his ancestors
left to contemporary Andean peoples and which Maximo re-creates as his own.
Maximo Laura possesses other gifts passed down from his ancestors. He believes
deeply in the traditional practice of Ayni, a Quechua term for reciprocity, generosity
and building relationships. He is committed and dedicated to his country and
his people and is deeply rooted there; it informs most everything he does. He
expresses his Ayni commitment by teaching others what he knows. Maximo often
travels through Peru to isolated communities in order to teach children and young
people to weave, with the intention of using this medium to preserve culture and
to provide an additional means of sustaining families. He searches out weavers
working in isolation and encourages them to enter competitions, create work
for exhibitions and to keep going; to overcome the challenges they face, like an
Aikido Master, moving around obstacles rather than butting up against them.
Weaving is an important expression of a culture; one can understand Peru
more fully and completely through its textile and folk art traditions which, like
many Indigenous cultures around the world, are under threat by globalization
and mechanization. Peru has endured its own internal conflicts which have
threatened cultural traditions. Because of this, he opened a Museum in Cusco
in November 2013 to display his own work and also that of weavers who are
working in isolation across his country.
This year Maximo also opened a second workshop in his home city of Ayacucho
so that weavers would not have to leave their home villages - where they are also
dedicated to working their plots of land - to travel to the capital for work.
Because of his commitment to others, Maximo was honoured by his government,
via UNESCO and recommended by its Member States, as a Living National
Treasure. He received the UNESCO Prize for Latin America and the Caribbean.
He has also received the Manos de Oro (Hands of Gold) award, a recognition that
fills him, and everyone who knows him, with pride. In Peru Maximo is recognized
as a Grand Master and AMAUTA(3).
It is not just his own people with whom he shares Ayni. Twice each year, a group
of visitors from around the world, arrive in Peru to participate in PUCHKA Peru
Textile Tours during which workshops include working intensively with Maximo
and other Peruvian Master artisans over 8 of the 22 days of the tours. Twice a
16

colleagues in his home region of Ayacucho. For seventeen years Maximo has set
aside his own work to dedicate time to visitors from other cultures. These crosscultural exchanges have enriched many lives and nourished the creativity and
imagination of a significant number of visitors to Peru. He is the most generous
of teachers. When I retired from operating the PUCHKA tours in 2013, Maximo
took over because he believes deeply in the magic that occurs when people of
different cultures come together, not to make war on one another, but to create
beauty, friendship and mutual understanding.
This desire, willingness and delight in sharing his knowledge has taken Maximo to
many countries in his own hemisphere and to Europe, the United Kingdom and
the United States, to exhibit his work, participate in conferences, give lectures,
to teach and to receive honours and awards. He rarely turns down an invitation
to speak at events about his work, his country and his people and we are all
enriched significantly by his practicing Ayni with us.
borrow a phrase from a mutual friend, Melanie Ebertz of ART ANDES, he does so
by preserving culture, one tapestry at a time.
In closing, some would say that I am still obsessed with what I wear but now
displayed on every shelf and table are Peruvian textiles and folk art and that, to
my way of thinking, is progress!

Sasha McInnes

Victoria, British Columbia

Canada
30 August 2014 (United Nations designated Day of the Disappeared)

(1) A phrase borrowed from Melanie Ebertz of ART ANDES.

Notes

(2) Coca is a vitally important element in Andean religion and society. It has been used in
the Andes for millennia, and is woven into the very fabric of life, featuring in every festival,
traditional ritual, every social and economic exchange besides its many medicinal uses.The
coca leaf is not a drug. Controversial yes, but misunderstood. Cocaine is to coca as ivory is
to elephants: a derivative, and very different from the whole beast. Cocaine is obtained by
chemically extracting the principal alkaloid from the coca leaf and discarding the rest. Most
cocaine users are abusers, and the effects are then toxic and addictive. Coca leaf, however,
contains a complex of fourteen alkaloids, significant amounts of vitamins A & E, plus iron,
potassium, calcium (lots of sodium too, incidentally), and various other minerals in trace
amounts (source: The Incredible Leaf Cochabamba, 1992). It helps maintain blood sugar
levels when protein intake is low, which is one of the reasons for its popularity among the
highlanders. It is also said to help regulate the heart rate during the changes in altitude that
one undergoes while traveling in the Andes.
(3) In the time of the Inca there was a special, revered and precious body of individuals
called Amautas who had an important mission: To keep the chronicle of the cities, to teach
civics/citizenship and theology.
An Amauta was a reciter of history, a creator of poetry. They acted as an inspiration to
others. They organized solemn feasts and festive events. They offered their happiness and
positive energy to the people. Their work was heavy with honour. An Amauta is chosen
by the Great Spirit to follow a special path, beginning as an apprentice and later, initiated
by another Amauta in an ancient ritual. Humility and simplicity as well as an ability and
dedication to open their hearts to all are their main characteristics.
An Amauta listens to all in the same way and their knowledge is there for anyone to hear.
Their footprints and actions are guided by the ancestors and the Great Spirit. Amauta is the
union of heaven and earth, it is the bond between all beings. It is the balance and force that
is within all of us in our pure state of being.
Amauta means: s/he who loves all without distinciton of race, creed, social class or colour.
An Amauta is an earth icon of the land of Latin America. S/he represents wisdom, history,
masterful accomplishment.

17

Qoricancha taki (Canto en el templo del Sol)

Tapiz
118 x 122 cm
Music in the sun temple
Hand-woven tapestry
46.45 x 48.03 in

18

Fiesta de la cosecha
Tapiz
118 x 147 cm
Harvest Festival
Hand-woven tapestry
46.45 x 57.87 in

19

Hatun Raymi
Tapiz
188 x 126 cm
Grand Celebration
Hand-woven tapestry
74.02 x 49.60 in
20

Hatun Raymi XI
Tapiz
123 x 171 cm
Grand celebration XI
Hand-woven tapestry
48.42 x 67.32 in
21

Msicos I
Tapiz
119 x 171 cm
Musicians I
Hand-woven tapestry
46.85 x 67.32 in

22

Msicos II
Tapiz
122 x 175 cm
Musicians II
Hand-woven tapestry
46.03 x 68.89 in

23

Canto a la tierra III

Tapiz
120 x 165 cm
Chant for the earth III
Hand-woven tapestry
47.24 x 64.96 in

24

Canto a la tierra II
Tapiz
122 x 188 cm
Chant for the earth II
Hand-woven tapestry
46.03 x 74.02 in

25

Wiay taky I (Canto eterno I)

Tapiz
123 x 167 cm
Ancient sacred music rebirth I
Hand-woven tapestry
48.42 x 65.74 in
26

Wiay taki II (Canto eterno II)

Tapiz
120 x 150 cm
Ancient sacred music rebirth II
Hand-woven tapestry
47.24 x 59.05 in
27

Wiay taki IV (Canto eterno IV)

Tapiz
136 x 120 cm
Ancient sacred music rebirth IV
Hand-woven tapestry
53.54 x 47.24 in
28

Despertar del corazn

Tapiz
156 x 121 cm
Awakening of the heart
Hand-woven tapestry
61.41 x 47.63 in
29

Ritual de la fiesta del sol

Tapiz
124 x 155 cm
Ritual in the festival for the sun
Hand-woven tapestry
48.81 x 61.02 in
30

Ritual del sol y la luna

Tapiz
122 x 150 cm
Ritual of the sun and moon
Hand-woven tapestry
46.03 x 59.05 in
31

Cantata a la luna
Tapiz
121 x 148 cm
Chant to the moon
Hand-woven tapestry
47.63 x 58.26 in

32

Festival de msicos
Tapiz
119 x 207 cm
Festival of musicians
Hand-woven tapestry
46.85 x 81.49 in

33

El tapiz es una tcnica antigua, cuyos orgenes se pierden en el tiempo.

Esta es utilizada apropiadamente por el artista para aludir a sus historias
ancestrales, una mitologa que no ha sido documentada en sus inicios.
Lnea por lnea el tapiz es construido cuidadosamente, sus imgenes en
detalle parecieran caticos, pero el total es una estructura organizada.
Es tejido con muchos colores vibrantes en toda la composicin, creando
una profundidad de campo increble como formas grficas que aparecen
y desaparecen, alcanzando una armona visual gracias al sabio uso del
equilibrio de tonos de colores clidos y fros.

Rebecca A. T. Stevens - EE.UU.

Curadora y consultora de Textil Contemporneo en el Museo Textil de

Washington DC.

34

Tapestry is ancient technique whose origins are lost in the mists of time. It
seems particularly appropriate that the artist uses this technique to allude
to his ancestral stories, a mythology which has no documented beginnings.
The line-by-line language of tapestry is carefully built to construct the
imagery which is chaotic in detail but within and organized framework. The
colorful threads weave in and out of the composition, creating and amazing
depth of field as the graphic shapes emerge and recede, achieving visual
harmony by the judicious balance of warm and cool color tones.

Rebecca A. T. Stevens (USA)

Consulting Curator, Contemporary Textiles, at The Textile Museum in

Washington D.C.

35

36

Guerreros de la luz I
Tapiz
120 x 226 cm
Warriors of light I
Hand-woven tapestry
47.24 x 88.97 in
37

Cantar en el encuentro sagrado

Tapiz
130 x 219 cm
Singing in the sacred encounter
Hand-woven tapestry
51.18 x 86.22 in
38

39

Wiay Taky XXIX (Canto eterno XXIX)

Tapiz
120 x 172 cm
Ancient sacred music rebirth XXIX
Hand-woven tapestry
47.24 x 67.71 in

40

Rituales y visiones de las llamas en la fiesta al sol

Tapiz
125 x 166 cm
Rituals and visions of the lamas in the sun festival
Hand-woven tapestry
49.21 x 65.35 in

41

42

Canto de las llamas al sol

Tapiz
125 x 244 cm
Chant of the llamas al sol
Hand-woven tapestry
49.21 x 96.06 in
43

Ritual de las llamas

Tapiz
212 x 364 cm
Obra seleccionada
Sexta Trienal Internacional de Tapicera y Artes Textiles de Tournai
Blgica, 2008
Ritual of the llamas
Hand-woven tapestry
83.46 x 143.31 cm
Juried selection
6th International Triennial of Tapestry and Textile Arts of Tournai
Belgium, 2008
44

45

Ritual de la llama en rojo

Tapiz
125 x 161 cm
Ritual of the llamas in red
Hand-woven tapestry
49.21 x 63.38 in

46

Da de la abundancia
Tapiz
122 x 183 cm
Day of the abundance
Hand-woven tapestry
48.03 x 72.04 in

47

Ritual de la llama a la flor de cantuta

Tapiz
117 x 125 cm
Llama Ritual for the flower of Cantuta
Hand-woven tapestry
46.06 x 49.21 in
48

Despertando con el Mamapacha

Tapiz
185 x 124 cm
Awakening with the earth mother
Hand-woven tapestry
72.83 x 48.81 in
49

Canto a la fertilidad
Tapiz
122 x 178 cm
Obra seleccionada
Green: the color and the cause
The Textile Museum
Estados Unidos, 2011
Song for fertility
Hand-woven tapestry
48.03 x 70.07 in
Juried selection
Green: the color and the cause
The Textile Museum
USA, 2011

50

Poema a la flor
Tapiz
121 x 169 cm
Premio Segundo Lugar
Fantastic Fibers 2010 organizada por the
Yeiser Art Center, Estados Unidos
Poem for the flower
Hand-woven tapestry
47.63 x 66.53 in
Second Place Award
Fantastic Fibers 2010 hosted by the Yeiser
Art Center, USA

51

El tapiz de Mximo Laura es un proyecto de resistencia cultural, una luz

encendida en el tnel del tiempo que devuelve a nuestros ojos un pasado
fascinante, tan rico en mitos, smbolos,.., buscando una sntesis plstica de
figuras y geometras que hablan de dioses, fenmenos celestes, arquetipos
universales e integracin con la naturaleza.., el pasa por las races andinas
al pleno dominio tcnico para llegar a una libre creacin, a la construccin
de poemas pticos que legitimizan su arte como autntico, profundo y
personalizado... Es ms que un talento artstico, una visin consciente del
tesoro solar de los incas, que l erige como un farol en la noche sin treguas
de nuestra Amrica Latina.

Mario Margutti Brasil

Crtico de Arte

52

in the tunnel of time which returns to our eyes a fascinating past, so

rich in myths, symbols looking for a sculptural synthesis of figures and
geometries that speak of gods, celestial phenomena, universal archetypes
and integration with nature he goes by the Andean roots with complete
technical command to reach a free form of creation, to the construction
of optical poems which legitimize his art as authentic, profound and
the solar treasure of the Incas that he erects like a lantern in the night
without respite of our Latin America.

Mario Margutti (Brazil)

Art Critic

53

Primavera del amor

Tapiz
178 x 258 cm
Premio Mencin Honorfica
13ava Trienal Internacional del Tapiz
de Lodz
Polonia, 2010
Hand-woven tapestry
70.07 x 101.57 in
Honorary Mention Award
13th International Triennial of
Tapestry in Lodz
Poland, 2010
54

Sueo del guerrero al amanecer

Tapiz
253 x 122 cm
Premio Mencin
Tercera Trienal Europea de Fibras y Arte Textil.
Tradicin e Innovacin Global Intrigue
Letonia, 2007
Dream of the warrior at dawn
Hand-woven tapestry
99.60 x 48.03 in
Mention Prize
3rd European Textile and Fibre Art Triennial.
Tradition & Innovation Global Intrigue
Latvia, 2007
55

Camino ardiente a la luz

Tapiz
119 x 235 cm
Obra seleccionada
Stima Bienal del Tapiz Americano
Estados Unidos, 2008
Glowing path to the light
Hand-woven tapestry
46.85 x 92.52 in
Juried selection
7th American Tapestry Biennial ATB7
USA, 2008

56

Encuentros sagrados en la Jungla

Tapiz
176 x 402 cm
Sacred encounter in the jungle
Hand-woven tapestry
69.29 x 158.27 in

57

Espritu mayor caminante

Tapiz
232 x 240 cm
Premio Mencin
5ta Bienal Internacional de Arte
Textil organizada por la WTA
Argentina, 2009
Greater spirit wayfarer
Hand-woven tapestry
91.33 x 94.48 in
Mention Prize
V International Biennial of Textil
Art organized by the WTA
Argentina, 2009
58

Ritual para el rbol sagrado

Tapiz
176 x 260 cm
Ritual for the sacred tree
Hand-woven tapestry
69.29 x 102.36 in

59

60

Estaciones del amante

Tapiz
175 x 473 cm
Seasons of Love
Hand-woven tapestry
68.3 x 184.5 in
61

Alabanzas sagradas en la jungla

Tapiz
180 x 303 cm
Premio de la Ciudad |
4ta Trienal Internacional de Arte de la Fibra y Textil - Global Intrigue II
Letonia, 2010
Sacred praises in the jungle
Hand-woven tapestry
70.2 x 118.2 in
Special Prize City Council
Global Intrigue II 4th International Textile and Fibre Art Triennial
Latvia, 2010
62

63

Espritu Mayor
Tapiz
176 x 120 cm
Obra seleccionada
Octava Bienal del Tapiz Americano
Estados Unidos, 2010
Greater spirit
Hand-woven tapestry
69.29 x 47.24 in
Juried selection
American Tapestry Biennial Eight
USA, 2010
64

Fiesta a la luna
Tapiz
124 x 117 cm
Festival for the Moon
Hand-woven tapestry
48.81 x 46.06 in

65

Fiesta a La Luna I
Tapiz
194 x 123 cm
Festival for the Moon I
Hand-woven tapestry
75.7 x 48.42 in
66

Cantos espirituales a nuestras races

Tapiz
179 x 99 cm
Spiritual song to our roots
Hand-woven tapestry
69.8 x 38.6 in
67

Ritual a nuestras races

Tapiz
188 x 120 cm
Ritual to our roots
Hand-woven tapestry
74.02 x 47.24 in
68

Canto Alado
Tapiz
119 x 123 cm
Winged chant
Hand-woven tapestry
46.85 x 48.42 in

69

La intencin de Mximo Laura es expresar su particular visin del universo

pasando a travs de la energa de sus antepasados - no a travs de la
repeticin, sino a travs de la adaptacin a su experiencia contempornea,
lo que significa dar testimonio de nuestro tiempo a travs de su obra.

Beatrijs Sterk - Holanda

Secretaria General de la European Textile Network - ETN

70

to contemporary experience. In his view, contemporary means bearing

witness to our day and age as a modern-day person.

Beatrijs Sterk (Netherlands)

Secretary General of the European Textile Network

71

Aves en una tarde festiva

Tapiz
121 x 176 cm
Birds in a festive afternoon
Hand-woven tapestry
47.63 x 69.29 in

72

Ritual del Yacumama

Tapiz
118 x 265 cm
Ritual of the water goddess
Hand-woven tapestry
46.45 x 103.4 in

73

74

Fruto abundante del mar

Tapiz
122 x 233 cm
Abundant fruit of the sea
Hand-woven tapestry
47.6 x 91.73 in
75

Yacumama Raymi (Fiesta de la

diosa del agua)
Tapiz
123 x 458 cm
Premio de Bronce
Quinta Bienal Internacional de Arte
en Fibra De Laussane a Beijing
China, 2008
Festival of the Water Goddess
Hand-woven tapestry
48.42 x 91.73 in
Bronze Prize
From Lausanne to Beijing 5th
International Fiber Art Biennale
China, 2008
76

77

Danza de peces en los mares

Tapiz
99 x 104 cm
Obra seleccionada
Quinta Trienal Internacional de Artes Textiles Texpoart
Romania, 2008
Dance of fish in the seas
Hand-woven tapestry
38.6 x 40.94 in
Juried Selection
TexpoArt - 5th Edition International Triennial of Textile Arts
Romania, 2008
78

Encuentro de dos peces

Tapiz
121 x 187 cm
Encounter of two fish
Hand-woven tapestry
47.63 x 73.62 in

79

Fiesta de peces II
Tapiz
148 x 118 cm
Feast of fishes II
Hand-woven tapestry
58.26 x 46.45 in
80

Adoracin a la medusa
Tapiz
160 x 120 cm
Adoration of the jellyfish
Hand-woven tapestry
59.05 x 47.24 in
81

Dos peces payasos

Tapiz
180 x 120 cm
Two clown fishes
Hand-woven tapestry
70.2 x 47.24 in
82

Tiburn madre
Tapiz
150 x 120 cm
Obra seleccionada
Fibras Fantsticas 2012 organizada por
the Yesiser Art Center,
Estados Unidos
Shark mother
Hand-woven tapestry
45.6 x 57.3 in
Juried selection
Fantastic Fibers 2012 organized by the
Yeiser Art Center,
USA
83

Yacumama
Tapiz
183 x 218 cm
The water Goddess
Hand-woven tapestry
72.04 x 85.82 in

84

Yacumama II
Tapiz
118 x 153 cm
The Water Goddess II
Hand-woven tapestry
46.45 x 60.23 in

85

Cantata al jaguar
Tapiz
120 x 250 cm
Chant to the Jaguar
Hand-woven tapestry
47.24 x 98.42 in

86

Ritual del canto eterno de los Apus en el tiempo

Tapiz
102 x 292 cm
Ritual of the eternal chant of the Apus in the time
Hand-woven tapestry
40.15 x 114.96 in
87

Los temas invocados focalizan las ms importantes situaciones visuales

del Imperio Inca, adaptadas para una interpretacin y comunicacin
contempornea en un lenguaje muy personal del artista. Utiliza el
pensamiento simblico andino, tratando de aportar una coloracin, textura,
composicin y representacin bien original del momento actual.

lvaro Machado Brasil

Critico de Arte

88

The motives portray the most important visual settings of the Inca Empire,
which are used as a present-day interpretation and communication form in
a style and a language which are very peculiar to the artist.

Alvaro Machado (Brazil)

Art Critic

89

Ritual del canto eterno de los Apus en el tiempo V

Tapiz
245 x 123 cm
Premio Best in Show
VIII Arte Latinoamericano Contemporneo,
Museo de las Amricas
Estados Unidos, 2005
Ritual of the eternal chant of the Apus in the time V
Hand-woven tapestry
96.45 x 48.42 in
Best in Show Prize
Latin American Art 8,
Museum of the Americas
USA, 2005
90

Ritual sagrado al jaguar

Tapiz
98 x 356 cm
Sacred jaguar ritual
Hand-woven tapestry
38.58 x 140.16 in

91

Ofrenda a la tierra
Tapiz
101 x 276 cm
Offering to the earth
Hand-woven tapestry
39.76 x 108.66 in

92

Danza de los dioses del fuego

Tapiz
100 x 284 cm
Dance of the gods of fire
Hand-woven tapestry
39.37 x 111.81 in

93

Posedos por la luna

Tapiz
104 x 208 cm
Possessed by the moon
Hand-woven tapestry
40.94 x 81.89 in

94

Mar interior de luz

Tapiz
107 x 257 cm
Inner light visin
Hand-woven tapestry
42.12 x 101.18 in

95

Aliento sagrado del jaguar

Tapiz
106 x 240 cm
Sacred breath of the jaguar
Hand-woven tapestry
41.73 x 94.48 in

96

Ritual eterno del Wiracocha en los andes

Tapiz
119 x 323 cm
Eternal ritual of the God in the andes
Hand-woven tapestry
46.85 x 127.17 in

97

Ritual del canto eterno de los Apus en el tiempo III

Tapiz
126 x 267 cm
Ritual of the eternal chant of the Apus in the time III
Hand-woven tapestry
49.60 x 105.12 in
98

Mirando el equilibrio de la vida

Tapiz
320 x 176 cm
Premio a la Excelencia
VI Bienal Internacional de Arte de la Fibra
China, 2010
Looking balance of the life
Hand-woven tapestry
125.98 x 69.29 in
Award of Excellence
VI International Fiber Art Biennale
China, 2010
99

Armonia csmica II
Tapiz
208 x 120 cm
Cosmic harmony II
Hand-woven tapestry
81.89 x 47.24 in
100

Luna llena me cubre de azul

Tapiz
275 x 102 cm
Full moon covers me in blue
Hand-woven tapestry
108.27 x 40.15 in
101

Camino hacia mi centro

Tapiz
296 x 101 cm
Path to my center
Hand-woven tapestry
116.54 x 39.76 in
102

Cosmovisin
Tapiz
122 x 217 cm
Ganador Absoluto en la categora Tejido, V Bienal
Intercontinental de Arte Indgena Ancestral o
Milenario, Ecuador
Interior cosmos
Hand-woven tapestry
47.6 x 84.6 in
Absolute Winner in Tapestry category, V
Intercontinental Biennial of Indigenous Art,
Ecuador
103

Noche Sagrada
Tapiz
181 x 244 cm
Sacred night
Hand-woven tapestry
71.26 x 96.06 in

104

Guerrero de luz en noche azul

Tapiz
197 x 122 cm
Artista Invitado en la exposicin, Game
Changers: Fiber Art Masters and Innovators
Estados Unidos, 2014
Warrior of light in the blue night
Hand-woven tapestry
76.8 x 47.6 in
Invited Artist at the exhibition, Game
Changers: Fiber Art Masters and Innovators
Estados Unidos, 2014
105

Biografa
1959

- Nace en Huamanga, Ayacucho, Per

- Paths to the Sun and Moon, Art works Studios and Galleries, Richmond, VA,
Estados Unidos
- Celebrating Life, CAISA International Cultural Centre, Helsinki, Finlandia

FORMACIN

2010

2006

- Seminario de Creatividad, por la Maestra Silke, San Jos, Costa Rica

1987

- Tejido Contemporneo en el Taller de la Maestra Kela Cremashi, Per

1985-1986

- Seminarios-Taller de Arte y Diseo Andino, por Zadir Milla, Lima, Per

1980-1983

- Literatura Hispnica, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Per

1973-1974

- Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de Ayacucho ENBA, Per

1966-1974

- Tejido Ayacuchano en el Taller de Miguel Laura, Ayacucho, Per

SELECCION DE EXPOSICIONES
2014

- Manos del Sol, exposicin itinerante, Museo Inka / Museo Machu Picchu / Museo
de Arte Popular, Cusco, Per
- Game Changers: Fiber Art Masters and Innovators exposicin colectiva, Fuller
Craft Museum, Massachusetts, Estados Unidos

2013

- Inner Vision, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Ontario, Canad

- Colours of Per Shapes of Japan, Denbies Gallery, Surrey, Reino Unido

2012

- Amautas, Museo de Arte y Tradiciones Populares, Lima, Per

- Fantastic Fibers 2012, Yeiser Art Center, Kentucky, Estados Unidos.- Tour
Itinerante Herederos de Nuestra Magia, Cerveza Cusquea, Per
- Myth Making, Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Ontario,
Canad

2011

- Art in Action, Waterperry House, Oxfordshire, Inglaterra

- Green: A Color and a Cause, the Textile Museum, Washington, DC, Estados Unidos
106

- 4th Riga International Textile and Fibre Art Triennial Tradition & Innovation,
Letonia
- American Tapestry Biennial 8, Elder Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska, Estados Unidos
- 8thInternational Baltic Minitextile Triennial, Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz,
Polonia
- From Lausanne to Beijing 6th International Fiber art Biennale, Henan, China
- Age of the Time, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Letonia
- 13ava Trienal Internacional del Tapiz, Lodz, Polonia
- Ofrendas, Cultural Center of UNSCH, Ayacucho, Per
- Fantastic Fibers 2010, the Yeiser Art Center, KY, Estados Unidos
- Cantos Ceremoniales, Centro Hispanoamericano de Cultura, La Habana, Cuba

2009

- Ofrendas, Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares, Lima, Per

- Landscapes of the Soul, Art works Studios and Galleries, Richmond, VA, Estados
Unidos
- 5ta Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil, Palais de Glace, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Connections: Small Tapestry International 2009, San Jose Museum of Quilts &
Textiles, Estados Unidos
- Small Expressions 2009, Mississippi Craft Center, Estados Unidos

2008

- From Lausanne to Beijing 5th International Fiber art Biennale, Pekn, China
- Ritos y Ofrendas, Centro Cultural de la UNSCH, Ayacucho, Per
- Rituales y Visiones, II Congreso Turismo y Arquitectura Sustentable, Argentina
- Scythia 7 International Biennial Conference and Exhibition on Textile Art, Kherson,
Ucrania
- American Tapestry Biennial 7, Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, Tampa, Florida, Estados
Unidos
- 6th International Triennial of Tapestry and Textile Arts of Tournai, Tournai, Blgica
- Land the Tapestry Foundation of Victoria Award Exhibition, ANU - School of Art,
Australia

2007

- Global Intrigue - 3rd European Textile and Fiber Art Triennial, Riga, Letonia

2006

- Artista invitado, IV International Biennial of Textile Art and Design, Costa Rica

2005

- Contemporary Latin American Art 8, Broward Community College, Florida,

Estados Unidos

SELECCION DE PREMIOS Y RECONOCIMIENTOS

2001

2014

1996

2011

1993/1994/1996

2010

1992

- Ganador Absoluto en la categora Tejido, V Bienal Intercontinental de Arte

Indgena Ancestral o Milenario, Ecuador
- Premio a la Excelencia, Saln Arte Textil Pequeo Formato, VI Bienal de Arte Textil
Contemporneo organizado por la World Textile Art, Mxico
- Premio Nacional Tesoros Humanos Vivientes de la Nacin, Fundacin Cultural del
Banco de la Nacin IDESI, Per
- Premio a la Excelencia, From Lausanne to Beijing 6th International Fiber art
Biennale, Henan, China
- Premio Especial de la Municipalidad de la Ciudad, 4th Riga International Textile
and Fibre Art Triennial Tradition & Innovation - Global Intrigue II, Exhibition Hall
- Mencin Honorifica, 13ava Trienal Internacional del Tapiz, Lodz, Polonia
- Premio Segundo Lugar, Fantastic Fibers 2010, the Yeiser Art Center, KY, Estados
Unidos

2009

- Premio a la Excelencia HGA, Handweavers Guild of America, Estados Unidos

- Primer Premio, Small Expressions 2009, Handweavers Guild of America,
Mississippi, Estados Unidos
- Gran Premio Nacional Amauta de la Artesana Peruana, Ministerio de Comercio
Exterior y Turismo, Per
- Premio Mencin, 5ta Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2008

- Reconocimiento como Embajador de la Cultura Ayacuchana, Gobierno Regional

de Ayacucho, Per
- 3er Premio de Bronce, From Lausanne to Beijing 5th International Fiber art
Biennale, Beijing, China
- II Premio Medalla de Plata, International Biennial Exhibition on Textile Art, Ucrania.
Exhibition, Australia
- Medalla Joaqun Lpez Antay, Congreso de la Repblica del Per, Lima, Per

- Premio Gran Maestro de la Artesana Peruana, Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Per

- Mejor Artista Internacional Otorgado durante IV Muestra Iberoamericana de
Artesana, Venezuela
- 1er y 2do Premio, Coral Gables International Festival of Craft Arts, Florida, Estados
Unidos
- Premio UNESCO para Amrica Latina y el Caribe, 4 Iberoamerican Crafts Fair in
Tenerife, Espaa

1991

- 1er Premio Nacional de Artesana Manos de Oro, Lima, Per

OBRAS EN COLECCIONES PBLICAS

- Banco Mundial, Estados Unidos
- Galeria ICPNA, Per
- Galeria Vargas, Per
- Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Estados Unidos
- Casa de la UNESCO, Francia
- Museo de las Amricas, Estados Unidos
- Museo de Artesana, Finlandia
- Museo Iberoamericano de Artesana, Venezuela
- Museo de Artesana Iberoamericana, Espaa

MEMBRESAS
- American Tapestry Alliance - ATA
- European Textile Network ETN
- British Tapestry Group - BTG
- Red Textil Iberoamericana - REDTEXTILIA (Co-fundador y Miembro de la Junta
Directiva)
- Word Textile Art Organization - WTA (Miembro honorario)

2007

- Mencin Honorifica, 3rd European Textile and Fiber Art Triennial Global Intrigue,
Riga, Letonia

2002

- Best in Show, Contemporary Latin American Art 8, Museo de las Amricas, Estados Unidos
107

Biography
1959

- Born in Huamanga, Ayacucho, Peru

EDUCATION
2006

- Seminar of Creativity, by Master Silke, San Jos, Costa Rica

- Paths to the Sun and Moon, Art works Studios and Galleries, Richmond, VA, USA
- Green: A Color and a Cause, the Textile Museum, Washington, DC, USA

2010

- 4th Riga International Textile and Fibre Art Triennial Tradition & Innovation

- Literature, UNMSM - Mayor de San Marcos National University, Lima, Peru

- American Tapestry Biennial 8, Elder Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

- 8thInternational Baltic Minitextile Triennial, Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz,
Poland
- From Lausanne to Beijing 6th International Fiber art Biennale, Henan, China
- Age of the Time, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia
- 13th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland
- Ofrendas, Cultural Center of UNSCH, Ayacucho, Peru
- Fantastic Fibers 2010, the Yeiser Art Center, KY, USA
- Cantos Ceremoniales, Centro Hispanoamericano de Cultura, La Havana, Cuba

1973-1974

2009

1987
1985-1986

- Seminars-Workshop of Art and Andean Design, by Zadir Milla, Lima, Peru

1980-1983

- National School of Fine Arts of Ayacucho - ENBA, Peru

1966-1974

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2014

- Hands of the Sun, touring exhibition, Museo Inka / Museo Machu Picchu / Museo
de Arte Popular, Cusco, Peru
- Game Changers: Fiber Art Masters and Innovators, group exhibition, Fuller Craft
Museum, Brockton, MA, USA

2013

- Inner Vision, Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Ontario, Canada

- Colours of Peru Shapes of Japan, Denbies Gallery, Surrey, United Kingdom

2012

- Amautas, Museo de Arte y Tradiciones Populares, Lima, Peru

- Fantastic Fibers 2012, Yeiser Art Center, Kentucky, USA
- Touring Exhibition Herederos de Nuestra Magia, Cerveza Cusquea, Peru
- Myth Making, Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Ontario,
Canada

108

2011

- Ofrendas: Maximo Laura, Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares, Lima, Peru

- Connection Small Tapestry International 2009, San Jose Museum of Quilts &
Textiles, USA
- 5ta Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil, Palais de Glace, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Small Expressions 2009, the Mississippi Craft Center, Ridgeland, Mississippi, USA
- Landscapes of the Soul, Art works Studios and Galleries, Richmond, VA, USA

2008

- From Lausanne to Beijing - 5th International Fiber art Biennale, Beijing, China.
- TexpoArt - 5th Edition International Triennial of Textile Arts, Nicolae Tonitza
Gallery, Iasi, Romania
- Scythia 7 - International Biennial Exhibition on Textile Art, Kherson, Ukraine
- 6th International Triennial of Tapestry and Textile Arts of Tournai, Tournai, Belgium
- American Tapestry Biennial 7, Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, Tampa, Florida, USA.
- Land the Tapestry Foundation of Victoria Award Exhibition, ANU School of Art.
Canberra, Australia

2007

- Global Intrigue - 3rd European Textile and Fiber Art Triennial, Riga, Latvia

2006

- Invited Artist - IV International Biennial of Textile Art and Design, San Jos, Costa
Rica

2005

- Contemporary Latin American Art 8, Broward Community College, Pembroke

Pines, Florida, USA

AWARDS SELECTION
2014

- Absolute Winner in Tapestry category, V Intercontinental Biennial of Indigenous

Art, Ecuador

2011

- Award for Excellence, WTA - VI International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art,

Mexico

2010

- Prize National Living Human Treasure, Government of Peru, Lima, Peru

- Outstanding Award, From Lausanne to Beijing 6th International Fiber art
Biennale, Henan, China
- Third Place Award, Small Expressions 2010 sponsored by the Handweavers Guild
of America, INC., New Mexico, USA
- Honorific Mention Prize, 13th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland
- Second Place Award, Fantastic Fibers 2010, the Yeiser Art Center, KY, USA

2009

- HGA Award in recognition of a work outstanding, Handweavers Guild of America,

USA
- 1st Place Award, Small Expressions 2009, Mississippi, USA
- Grand National Prize Amautas of Peruvian Handicraft, Government of Peru, Peru
- Mention Prize, 5ta Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2008
- Bronze Prize, From Lausanne to Beijing 5th International Fiber art Biennale,
China
- II Award - Silver Medal, Scythia 7th International Biennial Exhibition on Textile Art,
Ukraine

2002

- Title Master of the Handicraft Iberoamerican, X Iberoamerican Crafts Fair, Puerto

La Cruz, Venezuela

2001

- Grand Master of Peruvian Craft awarded by National Culture Institute, Peru

1993/1994/1996

- 1st Prize, Coral Gables International Festival of Craft Arts, Florida, USA

1992

- UNESCO Prize for Latin America and the Caribbean, Canaria, Spain

1991

- 1st National Prize of Craft Golden Hands, Government of Peru, Lima, Peru

MAIN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

- The World Bank, Washington DC, USA
- Word Textile Art Organization, Miami, USA
- UNESCO, Paris, France
- National Museum of the American Indian, USA
- Museum of the Americas, USA
- Museum of Craft, Finland
- The Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia
- Museum of Iberoamerican Crafts, Spain

MEMBERSHIPS
- American Tapestry Alliance - ATA
- European Textile Network - ETN
- Iberoamerican Textile Network - REDTEXTILIA (co-founder and member of the
Board of Directors)
- World Textile Art - WTA (Honorary Member)
- British Tapestry Group - BTG

Exhibition, Australia

2007

- Honorific Mention, Global Intrigue 3rd European Textile and Fiber Art Triennial
Tradition and Innovation, Riga, Latvia

109

Impreso en:
COMUNICACIN GRFICA
de Dora Elsa Villanueva Valdivia
Calle Isla San Salvador 172 Mz. C-12 Lote 35,
Urb. Cedros de Villa, Chorrillos - Lima
Telfono: 255 1384
Octubre del 2014

110

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