For ARCOmadrid 2024, Galeria Leme presents works by Peruvian artists, Sandra Gamarra and José Carlos Martinat, creating a dialogue of history, artefact and memory. Gamarra, representative for the Spanish Pavilion at the LX Venice Biennale, presents two glass cabinets which attest to the contradicting position of anthropology museums in freezing and flattening colonial narratives. Meanwhile, Martinat places these elements into contemporary contexts, allowing them to be ressignified and re-presented into the Art world, outside of glass boxes and stiffened exhibition rooms.
Sandra Gamarra unveils a thought-provoking critique of the Anthropology Museum as a repository of cultural knowledge. Through her artwork, she transforms seemingly empty display cabinets into canvases, intricately painting images of pre-Columbian and pre-Incan archaeological pieces onto the glass vitrines. Gamarra challenges the normalization of these cabinets as sites for symbolic and historical artifacts, highlighting the disconnection between the objects and their original contexts. By translating three-dimensional artifacts into a two-dimensional painted language, she emphasizes the power of casing to flatten and silence the historical narratives within. The mirrored undersides of the cabinets further engage the viewer, inviting introspection on the history of plundering and colonization, where the act of seeing oneself is a subtle yet powerful gesture of reclaiming agency within this narrative.
In a departure from his previous works, José Carlos Martinat’s recent exploration into ethnomedicine during the pandemic results in a captivating series of pieces. Inspired by the material elements of curanderia, Martinat incorporates rocks and minerals used in traditional folk medicine into his paintings. The minerals, believed to heal, protect, and prevent evil, become a unique filter of energy and light within his works. Martinat introduces a semi-transparent screen that not only allows wind to travel through, acting as a purifying element, but also draws inspiration from pre-Columbian shawls with magical and protective properties. In seamlessly blending traditional practices with contemporary art, Martinat’s pieces become both protective adornments and symbols of cultural resistance, creating a dialogue between ancient traditions and the modern context.
Gamarra and Martinat’s works at ARCO Madrid 2024 intricately challenge colonial narratives. Gamarra transforms museum cabinets into canvases, exposing the disconnection between objects and context, while Martinat seamlessly blends traditional elements with contemporary art. Both artists reclaim Peruvian history, inviting reflection on cultural heritage’s global significance. Together, they create a dynamic dialogue between past and present.
