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Venuca Evanán

(Peru, 1987)

Of Quechua descent, Venuca Evanán develops a contemporary version of the so-called Tablas de Sarhua. For the past fifty years, she and her family of painters have been revitalizing the pictorial tradition of the Sarhua community in the southern Peruvian region of Ayacucho.
Originally, these wooden boards were painted with colored earth and natural pigments and installed along the beams of a house during the Apakuy ceremony, a communal home-building tradition. Religious motifs, family life, and daily community activities were the primary themes traditionally depicted. Venuca Evanán carries on this tradition by incorporating contemporary materials and mediums, as well as new subjects such as eroticism, violence against women, LGBTQIA+ struggles, and the migration of Andean populations to metropolitan areas. A striking aspect of her work is its emphasis on bodily experiences, addressing themes such as sex, masturbation, and expressions of Andean cosmology.

Anelise De Carli

Bio

Venuca Evanán (Peru, 1987) is a visual artist, activist, and educator. She is the heir to the artistic expressions of the Sarhua community in the Ayacucho region in southern Peru. The artist is one of the first women to contribute to this typically male artistic production, and she does so by combining technique with experimentation in various media such as stone, wood, and textiles. Her work has expanded its representational content to address issues related to the customs of her community, eroticism, feminism, gender violence, LGBTQ+ struggles, the daily lives of migrant women, and the valorization of Andean women in society. She has also dedicated herself to teaching traditional Sarhua knowledge in recent years. She participated in national and international exhibitions and received the ICPNA Prize for Contemporary Art in Peru in 2020. She lives in Lima, Peru.

Venuca Evanan
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Where

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Works

Série Varayuqkuna - autoridades comunais, 2025

9 pinturas em varas silvestres

Obra comissionada pela 14ª Bienal do Mercosul

Série Warmimaqtakuna qapary carnavales, 2025

3 pinturas sobre troncos de maguey

Obra comissionada pela 14ª Bienal do Mercosul

Série Fiestas sarhuinas costumbristas, 2025

8 pinturas sobre troncos de maguey

Obra comissionada pela 14ª Bienal do Mercosul

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