EXHIBITIONS
NEW AGE NEW RUGS
ANCESTRAL WOOL RUGS
We present pieces that can be rugs or tapestries, pieces that can be square or not so much.
These are works where the deconfiguration of traditional iconography is the most recurrent exercise
MEET THE ARTISTS
VIEW GALLERY
VISIT SHOP
MANO’s vision and focus is to project, exhibit and make visible the new practices within Mexican folk art, as well as the work of artists who involve a craft technique with their hometown.
In Oaxaca’s case, Teotitlán del Valle is one of the towns that has transcended the most in its craftwork, and whose origin is multiple. Each artisan provides an aesthetic contribution that is appropriated; being such appropriation and collective interpretation something very common in towns that are dedicated to some craft, a fact that homogenizes the aesthetics of a practice, and defines the work of a generation and its community.
In this exhibition we present 5 young artisans from three different generations, in which we see a unique and fresh proposal to the productions that have been made before.
It is essential to talk about Beto Ruíz, who is a contemporary artist with artisanal origins, and whose contribution to textiles has been through the transformation of the Zapotec symbolisms that he has found on his surroundings, to a deconstructed graphic of these compositions.
Then there is Omar Chasán, who plays with the silhouettes and shapes of the pieces through modifications to their structure, which is very worthwhile because it involves detailed post-production work, something unprecedented in Teotitlán over time. Likewise, there is a focus on maintaining the organic origin of all supplies required in the elaboration of his work.
Bulmaro and Diego are related as brothers, and also they come from a family context of craftsmanship. They are the youngest of this collective show, and together they propose a new style among the variety of traditional rugs that their family has been working on. They have based their work on geometry and abstraction to reach simplicity.
On the other side stands Fidel, who has a closely emotional relationship with the abstract representations of the landscapes he produces on loom. He is the artisan with the smallest production, this due to his condition of being involved in a craft as well as a profession.
In this exhibition we focus on the new abstractions and the aesthetic development of what is currently the craft and folk art in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca. NEW AGE NEW RUGS is a glimpse of that breaking point that is transforming the aesthetics that will define a whole generation of pedal loom textiles. We believe that this selection of five young artisans is setting a new standard for what is currently being discussed in the field of rugs, blurring formal and conceptual boundaries.We present pieces that can be rugs or tapestries, pieces that can be square or not so much. These are works where the deconfiguration of traditional iconography is the most recurrent.
The materials depend on what the artist wants to evoke. Vivid and saturated colors are pigments that are difficult to obtain in a “natural” way, however, if that is desired to achieve, there are quasi-alchemical ways that make possible the existence of such tonalities. If the artist’s production relates it to an organic process for environmental, political or conceptual reasons, isn’t the material part of the image itself?
In MANO we are interested in questioning where the line that stigmatizes craftsmanship is corrupted, to the point of being conceived beyond the category of popular art, as an art itself. Always honoring the origin of the technique and the artisan concept of each of the artisans and their corresponding population.
My relationship with Teotitlán del Valle, besides belonging to the same state and region, lies in the social development it shares with San Martín Tilcajete, my hometown. We share traditions and cultural venues over time. We generate connections, families, comrades, friends, couples between towns. My parents Jacobo and Maria, and our great friend Jerry Boyd have been very important for the connection between Teotitlán and Tilcajete. We are entirely grateful for the effort to combine knowledge, aesthetic notions and craft practices. We continue sketching a path, always honoring what we are and what we do. Every construction is a weaving.
Ricardo Ángeles
Beto Ruiz
Omar Chasán
Fidel Montaño
