Juan David Latorre
As reported by The Diplomat, the exhibition Brujerías y Cien años de soledad, organised by the Embassy of Ecuador in collaboration with the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) and the Museo de América, opened last Thursday at the Museo de América in Madrid. The exhibition will be on display until 25 June.
The Brujerías project, a unique opportunity to enjoy the link between engraving, printmaking and literature, is the result of an interdisciplinary workshop in which seven stories by the Ecuadorian writer Pablo Palacio (1906-1947) were analysed and interpreted by 22 artists from Ecuador, Spain and Colombia through the use of engraving and printmaking techniques.
The presentation ceremony was attended by Andrés Vallejo, Ambassador of Ecuador; Mariano Jabonero, Secretary General of the OEI, and Isaac Sastre de Diego, Director General of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture, together with Paulina Guarderas, from the Estampería Quiteña Foundation.
The Ecuadorian ambassador, Andrés Vallejo, pointed out that “the Embassy of Ecuador has a very special interest in supporting all cultural activities and making our country recognised through culture, which has such a wide field of action now with this exhibition of the Estampería Quiteña, which is an entity that began its activities precisely with the support of the Spanish Cooperation Agency in 1998″.
“This exhibition,” continued the ambassador, “is a unique exhibition that combines literary narrative with the artistic expression of engraving. The art of engraving and printing involves alchemy, patience and rigour. A print is not a copy, but a multiple original, the result of a long process from the creation of the matrix to the final print. This exhibition presents an exhibition of etchings illustrating One Hundred Years of Solitude by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez. The artist establishes a unique language with the exhibition Brujerías, enriching the visitors’ experience. The prints are a masterful interpretation of García Márquez’s literary work. Through his mastery of etching, he captures the narrative richness, iconic characters and magical elements that make One Hundred Years of Solitude the masterpiece of Latin American literature”.
For his part, the secretary general of the OEI, Mariano Jabonero, pointed out that “our participation in this project is a commitment to the region, because this is its multiple richness, what characterises us. Also because of this link that unites us with Ecuador”. Mario Jabonero underlined the participation in the celebration of the centenary of the city of Quito.
The project was led by Estampería Quiteña, coordinated by aLfaRa StuDio from Spain and counted on the collaboration of the Colombian engraver Pedro Villalba Ospina, who is internationally renowned and the creator of a set of engravings that illustrate the masterpiece. Each artist created three original works, two two-dimensional and one three-dimensional. One of the selected stories is entitled Brujerías, from which the project takes its name.
Participating from Ecuador are Patricia Meier, Paulina Guarderas, Cecilia Izurieta, Mariana Ullauri, Rosy Revelo, Fernando López Guevara, Daymar Briceño, Diana Valarezo, Francisco Galárraga, Vanessa Muñoz, Raffaella Descalzi, Paúl Altamirano, José Manosalvas, Luis Recalde, Sara Palacios and Manuela Valencia. Spain is represented by Juan Pablo Villalpando, Laura Villalpando, Mónica Jorquera, Patricia Blanco and Luis Rosado.
In turn, from Colombia come the creations of guest artist Pedro Villalba Ospina, internationally renowned and comprising a set of engravings illustrating the Latin American literary masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.
