“Flora Zárate and the Art of the Andean Arpillera”

Arpilleras Exhibition
Opening Reception & Gallery Talk
Thurs, Sept. 3, 2009
3:30-6:00 pm
Exhibit Sept. 3rd - Oct. 2nd

Women’s Research Center Gallery
Research Pavilion
12424 Research Parkway
Suite 360
Orlando, FL 32826

 

Flora Zárate Biography

Flora Zárate is Peru’s foremost Arpillera artist.  She is an indigenous Quechua (Inca) woman from the highland region of Ayacucho, renowned as a center of artistic excellence. Arpilleras first emerged in Chilein the 1970s to protest the military regime of Augusto Pinochet.

Arpilleras are appliquéd tapestry-like wall hangings with three-dimensional elements and embroidery. Flora, has adapted indigenous Quechua and Hispanic folk textile traditions, which she learned as a child in the highland Peruvian region of Ayacucho, Peru, to make contemporary artistic creations. Her arpilleras demonstrate an exceptional mastery of technique and a unique artistic vision that is wide-ranging, whether depicting scenes of rural life, urban strife, or social violence.

Though still a young artist, Flora’s résumé is impressive. During2004-2008, she was honored with more than a dozen individual and ten group exhibitions, in Lima, Santa Fe, Sedona, Miami, and Memphis. The General Consulate of Peru in Miami has recognized her work, in addition to awards in Peru. She has guest lectured and given presentations about Andean textile arts and the art of the arpillera in Peru and the U.S. In these wall hangings, Flora brings a unique aesthetic vision to bear on such universal themes as family and community, migration, and identity.

Co-Sponsored: Office of International Studies, Women’s Studies Program, PeruVine/PeruDigital, UCF Latin American Cultural Festival of Orlando.

Flyer (pdf)