Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín

Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín

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.

Antonio Pichillá was born in 1982 in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, where he lives and works. In 2017 the artist received the Juannio Award, an important recognition for Guatemalan artists. Pichillá’s work has been exhibited at Tate Modern, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, Museo Reina Sofía, Palais de Tokyo, Museo de arte Moderno Mexico, Denver Art Museum and Hessel Museum of Art amongst many others. His artworks exist in major foundations and institutions such as Tate Modern, Museo Reina Sofía, Denver Art Museum, Banco de España, Lars Romer Copenhagen and Kadist Art Foundation San Francisco.

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Works
Grandfather
Grandfather 2020
Grandmother (i)
Grandmother (i) 2023
Kukulkan (i)
Kukulkan (i) 2022
Kukulkan (ii)
Kukulkan (ii) 2020
Pathway
Pathway 2022
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Exhibitions
In front of the lake
In front of the lake
Rolling with the Homies
Rolling with the Homies
"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 fulfil 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"
Video
Antonio Pichillá discussing his exhibition 'In front of the lake'