World Textile Art Organization (WTA) and the Maldonado Cultural House present
January 4 – 30, 2013 4:00 pm to 10 pm – Closed Mondays
Venue: Maldonado Cultural House
—Silvia Piza-Tandlich
 Fundación Bienal de Montevideo
Rincón 739, Tel.: + 598 29031356 Email: info@bienaldemontevideo.com.uy —Silvia Piza-Tandlich |
Expo Punta Arte, 5th Edition. December 29, 2012 through February 23, 2013.
Calle Independencia & Plaza Manzana Uno
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Manzana 1 Espacio de Arte is a not-for-profit art gallery located in the historical center of downtown Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. It is called Manzana 1 because it is found on the city’s first block. The building, which has been acknowledged as part of Santa Cruz’s historical legacy, was formerly the headquarters of the National Police and, after 13 years of neglect, it was opened once more, this time as a cultural space in 2005.
Beatriz Oggero is a Uruguay-born artist living in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Contact Beatriz: www.beatrizoggero.blogspot.com
—Silvia Piza-Tandlich, translation
Contact: 
An interesting exposition named SAVIA (Spanish for “sap”) opened to the public last November 9 sponsored by the Simon I. Patiño Foundation, and presented at Kiosko Gallery. Curator Raquel Schwarz, with the inspiration of Hagamos el bosque (Make A Forest)—a Dutch organization dedicated to sustainable management of tropical forests (http://www.makeaforest.org)—selected 20 renown contemporary artists from Bolivia to present SAVIA through various artistic mediums.
“Relicto” is a word to define remains of life organisms from the tertiary geologic Era —both vegetable and animal, which are scarce in the world: there are deposits in Chile, the Canary Islands, and Australia.
…”My idea when choosing this title, was that if we continue destroying the forest the way we have until now, there will only be these wonderful relicts left which, were we talking about human works, would be known as “relics”. While making the piece I thought that manual weaving in this contemporary world of digital looms, is also a relic of sorts, and that’s why I liked the term: I thought it was both strong and poetic…”
—translation by —Silvia Piza-Tandlich
Beatriz Oggero: "Relict" - detail
Local artistic creators will celebrate their live cultural patrimony by generating participation and awareness with their natural environment. Discussion groups, networking, expositions and workshops.
Contact: Graciela Miller http://facebook.com/artegracielamiller
—Silvia Piza-Tandlich
DIALOGUE WITH MATERIALS AND TIME
Beatriz Oggero is an accomplished textile artist and teacher. Born in Uruguay and now living in Cochabamba, Bolivia, she’s a child of two very strong textile cultures.
She claims to have a hard time answering the routine question, “what do you do for a living?” Yet, what she does was presented at a recent retrospective show featuring an installation of miniatures in an impressive array of textile techniques, plus a transparent tapestry knitted with two needles, made of 400 copper wire rectangles and color gauze.
Beatriz Oggero: "Contrast rhythm transparency". Torn cotton mesh dyed with tanning agent, hand sewn. 2004
Beatriz Oggero: "Mi zorzal" (My thrush), cigar box, raw hide, feathers, maize kernels, wire, seeds. 2005
In 1982 she was one of the founders of CETU (Center for Uruguayan Tapestry), which later became the Center for Textile Art of Uruguay since many artists evolved from solely Gobelin to mixed-media textiles. She later became President of this institution from 1986 to 1990 and organized two mini-textile international encounters, and in 1991 was invited to lead and develop the textile section at the Center for Industrial Design of Uruguay.
Beatriz Oggero: "Contra Ruta", 50 X 800 cm, 800 rectangular modules, silicon-glazed copper thread in various gauges, metal sticks. 2008
Beatriz Oggero: "Contra Ruta", 50 X 800 cm, 800 rectangular modules, silicon-glazed copper thread in various gauges, metal sticks. 2009 . 5th WTA Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art, Argentina.
Beatriz Oggero: Work detail.
—Silvia Piza-Tandlich, translation
Silvia Umpiérrez: basket. Weaving with "pinocha" (pine needles), and other materials.
On the other hand, this unique work also shows a revaluation of the natural element normally thrown away or burnt, appearing to us in the life of something else. That can only be achieved through a thinking and creating process: Silvia’s own rhyme and reason is present at all times.
Silvia Umpiérrez: basket showing a Central American weaving technique. Pine needles.
She enjoys the sensorial beauty of dry nature—its colors and scents—which she normally works on a very simple, native loom used in the Uruguayan countryside to weave blankets and flounces, whose warp allows the incorporation of various materials.
…“I weave with my hands, placing each fiber, one by one. Same as life itself, I weft with transparencies and textures, respecting the natural colors of each material…”
Silvia Umpiérrez: basket in Coulding technique.
Silvia feels comfortable within this form of showing dry elements, including them in artistic work as well as utilitarian objects. She makes her tapestries by working with palm tree inflorescences, which give her a certain transparency.
Silvia Umpiérrez: tapestry detail. Formio fiber (natural raffia-like leave, approx. 150cm. in length).
Tapestry by Silvia Umpiérrez. Some of the materials employed in her tapestry are banana peels, gum wraps, philodendron, and in some cases, her own dyed yarns and leathers.
In 2009, the Montevideo Museum of Contemporary Arts invited artists to create art with industrial fabrics. This was the first time that Silvia ventured away from organic found materials, using instead her grandmother’s ironing board to make a more traditional composition.
This year, however, Silvia’s wonderful mobile piece is being exhibited in the Art Object Salon at the WTA’s 6th International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art in Mexico. Made with materials such as eucalyptus and woven philodendron and watsonia leaves, it measures 50 X 35 X 20cm.
Silvia Umpiérrez. Work presented at 6th WTA Biennial in Mexico.
Decorative lamp by Silvia Umpiérrez.
Decorative lamp by Silvia Umpiérrez.
Left: Two of Silvia’s candle holders.
Photos at the bottom show raw materials before being woven into beautiful tapestries. Banana leaves and a great variety of twigs and sprays become part of the weft. The last picture is a detail of the finished tapestry.
Silvia Umpiérrez: tapestry (the "after" photo)
To see more of Silvia’s work, please go to her blog (in Spanish) at www.silviaumpierrez.blogspot.com
—Silvia Piza-Tandlich, translation
Alison Schwabe
Dear Alison:
Our best wishes for a year of creativity and fun!
Alison had surgery last December, but she’s feeling inspired again.
Her SAQA quilt shown below—a contribution to the SAQA auction—usually marks the inspirational basis for Alison’s creative Series, and this year’s little piece is no exception: she already feels it fits in with the Timetracks series, which you can see by visiting her gallery at http://www.alisonschwabe.com/gallery.php?cat=2
SAQA 2011 Auction piece
Alison is an Australian artist with extensive professional experience as a textile creator and teacher. She presently lives and works in Uruguay.
Her blog offers fascinating descriptions of her artistic process in developing each piece, or each series of pieces. For example, in her recent work, “Beachwork” she describes the mental process required to initiate work with purchased material she had previously deemed unsuitable.
"Beachwork", by Alison Schwabe. 2010
Unlike artists who prefer to work secretly until their work is ready for showing and viewing, Alison shares her mental and creative state with her public, thus allowing a better understanding of her creation.
"Circulation", by Alison Schwabe. 2011
To see more of Alison’s work, visit www.alisonschwabe.com
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