Stories: Peru Artistic Travel

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,

Amongst the contemporary art galleries and stylish ateliers in the airy boulevard of Saenz Peña in Barranco, there sits a majestic, pillared mansion. Built in 1916 by a wealthy Limeñan, this stately home was somewhat neglected, passing from hand to hand and inevitably falling into disrepair. That is until a few years ago, when the proprietors of the sumptous Titilaka hotel discovered this dilapidated beauty and envisioned its potential for greatness. After two full years and countless hours of painstaking planning and restoration, this grand old building is now finally on the brink of being unveiled to the world. Ever curious (and desperately eager to see a hotel that since 2011 has had us waiting at the edge of our seats in the sheer anticipation of being able to offer it), those of us at Aracari have been privileged enough to pay Hotel B a visit (or five) in the final stages of its development. Based on what we've seen so far, we think that this hotel is not only very beautiful, but that it will be totally unique to Lima as the only upscale boutique hotel in the city. It's stylish and elegant, but in a discreet manner, and we expect it to be very much "a-la-mode"... a sentiment that How to Spend it has already voiced. We're very confident that it will be an ideal hotel for Aracari guests. Much like its original design intended, the home is a sanctuary in the heart of Lima's bohemian district by the sea. Yet its function has a different purpose, as it is now transformed into a historic-meets-modern, luxury boutique hotel. The story goes that it belonged to a sixty-something Limeñan woman who left Peru to live in Europe, and that the hotel guests are in fact visiting her home . This