Stories: Aracari Team Insights

Last week, James, Simon, and I were privileged to canvas the stalls of Lima’s very first international art exposition, Art Lima, with Aracari's esteemed friend Mariano Ugalde. Owner of Salar Galeria de Arte in La Paz, Bolivia and professional art dealer, Mariano’s career requires him to promote the work of talented artists around the globe, providing him with fantastic and extensive insight into the contemporary art scene. On this such occasion, Mariano was invited to showcase his artists’ work, along with 30 other different galleries that were represented at the show. The exhibition was held at one of the magnificent buildings of the Military School in Chorrillos, and the galleries themselves were sectioned off along the interior walls and within the courtyard area.  We meandered from gallery to gallery inspecting the wide variety of artwork, from psychedelic and evocative oil paintings, to sculptural pieces that had cosmic and aquatic characteristics.  Many galleries had representatives present to talk about the work, to answer questions, and to assist in any sales transactions, a task fulfilled by Mariano as well.  However, what made this visit compelling was the passion for and knowledge about his particular artists, providing us with biographical information, award histories, and extensive explanations that still left much to the viewer’s imagination. Sara Modiano, a Jewish-Colombian woman whose work was not fully realized until her arrival to and acceptance in the New York art community, had a diverse yet interconnected body of work represented at the show. Her work was introspective, ranging from a celebratory piece called “Orgasmic Shrine,” which consisted of wire building blocks imposed with images of the artist’s face in ecstasy, to the pieces that portrayed the intense angst she felt during her battle against cancer. In these latter images, Modiano appears with a shaved head. In one,