Modern art in Central America: nostalgia, history & future

The Juannio modern art exhibition brings together unpublished works by emerging and established artists who show their art in Guatemala every year. The event and contest is a reference for collectors.

The works of 25 artists from: Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada were selected for the Juannio 2023 competition. 79 of the 144 pieces that were exhibited at the Miraflores Museum were sold.

How does art reflect the post-pandemic world? How do you listen to and show the current problems of Central America? For Mariflor Gálvez, director of Juannio, the modern art of the region adds nostalgia and introspection, both in themes and artistic techniques.

“The themes of some of the artists focus on what their family was like before, there is a nostalgic component, remembering the past and the good times (...) being present in the now... not living in the present. run... something that the pandemic forced us to do.”

Gálvez directs Juannio, an exhibition, event and auction of contemporary art in Central America, which is held in Guatemala every year. Juannio offers a vision of Latin American art where emerging and established artists present unpublished works in various techniques: painting, sculpture, photography, engraving, installation, textiles and alternative techniques. Estefanía Arriaza won first place in this year's contest with her work PostIndustrialismo, a sculpture that brings together everyday elements.

Arriaza took each element to the oven at high temperatures. “We collect objects, our house is full of things that we value. COVID taught us the value of family, which is undervalued. It forced us to spend time in our homes around these objects (many are food containers) that speak of our family cultures and Guatemalan society.”

For Arriaza, the mud allowed him to show a protest. “Things are no longer made to last forever... Why do we continue to consume? When that consumption becomes obsolete and becomes a piece of art, it makes us think about what we are doing as a society.”

In 2021, there were works related to the shortage of toilet paper. There are artists who have begun to explore mental health from a positive angle.

For Gálvez, local artists talk about issues of today's Guatemala: “Many take on current affairs, the palpable: themes related to feminism, racism, classism (...) the artist is always trying to express what he has inside” he noted.

The works of 25 artists from Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada were selected for the Juannio 2023 competition.

Gálvez is conservative about digital art or NFT (Non-Fungible Token). Although she highlights being able to track and see the traceability of the work, she affirms that a collector wants to have the physical work. “With the NFT one can have a screen. But, it does not compare with being able to have a painting in front of you: observe the texture, the light, the strokes. Touch the materials or feel them. Or, for example, feeling some textiles. (...) For me, art is being able to appreciate the work and what it entails. It is my opinion that (the NFT) is not going to be something so transcendental,” said the Guatemalan expert.

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