Cecilia Paredes

Cecilia Paredes explores the theme of identity through ethereal “photo performances” where she camouflages her body against beautifully patterned backdrops and disappears amongst the ornamentation. By presenting herself as part of the landscape, Paredes is building her own identity in relation to the part of the world where she lives and raises the question of how our environment influences who we are.

 Born in Lima, Peru, a country whose early civilizations revered nature, Cecilia often disguises herself against flora. The sweeping lines of foliage along with the rich hues that paint the backdrop and the artist’s body put her in an intimate conversation with nature. Animals, various objects, and fabric also play a part in the complex layers of Cecilia’s oeuvre. In her photographs, she is so immersed in her surroundings that we can hardly tell where her body begins and ends.

 The artist combines themes found in nature- origins, camouflage, transformation, and her body- to acquire multiple identities through a blend of sculptural recreations and photography. Each element in her body of work reminds the viewer of the fact that humans are but one element in nature, of which the body is a pristine expression. “I wrap, cover or paint my body with the same pattern of the material and represent myself as part of that landscape. Through this act, I am working on the theme of building my own identification with the entourage or part of the world where I live or where I feel I can call home.” – Cecilia Paredes. 

BIO

Cecilia Paredes (Lima, Perú, 1965).

Lives and works between Philadelphia, USA and Costa Rica. Cecilia does performance, constructs, draws and builds objects and installations. Cecilia work is focused in the relationship between man and nature in all its forms.

 Her studies of Fine Arts were at the Catholic University of Lima and Cambridge Arts in the UK. In 1998 she was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program. Paredes lived and worked in Costa Rica from 1998 to 2004, and represented the country at the 51st Venice Biennial in 2005. She now splits her time between Lima, Peru and Philadelphia, USA. 

 Cecilia Paredes is the recipient of the 2014 International Award for Artistic Excellence at the Pingyao International Festival of Photography. She has exhibited widely in North, South, and Central America, Asia, Australia, and Europe with solo exhibitions at major institutions including the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Russia and the Costa Rica Museum of Art, among others.

Solo exhibitions have been held at University of Navarra, Spain, Museum of Latin American Women MOLAA, LA California, Tabacalera Madrid, Spain, Central Bank Museum, Costa Rica, MMOMA Moscow, North American Cultural Center, Lima, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design Costa Rica, Space Museum, Samara, Russia, World Bank Washington DC, IILA Institute Rome, Contemporary Art Museum Panama, Art Yard Project Frenchtown, New Jersey, US and the Museum of Modern Art in Guatemala among others.

She has been part of the NY SVA School of Visual Arts 2019 guest lectures, Fashion and Textile Museum London: Contemporary weavers, 2019, Women Weavers Aluna Foundation Miami project in 2018,  51st Venice Biennale ,Havana Biennial, Biennale of Architecture and Art of the Canary Islands, Open Maps in Madrid and Barcelona, the Ev + A Project in Ireland, The Floating Land in Queensland, Australia , Getxophoto in Bilbao, Spain, Beijing Fine Arts Museum and Fotografica Bogota as guest artist in 2013.

Awards include Excellency Prize Pyogang Photo Festival, China, National Engraving Award Lima, Peru, Francisco Amighetti Award, Costa Rica, First Prize Sculpture Biennial in Costa Rica, ICPNA Cultural Center First Prize Lima.

Collections: Dartmouth College Museum, USA; BID Collection Washington DC, USA; Museum of Modern Art, MoMa Moscow; University of Navarra Museum, Spain; Pilar Citoller Collection, Madrid; Museo del Barrio, NY, USA; Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, USA; San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, USA; University of Texas, USA; Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA; Amr Al-Dabbagh, Stars Foundation, Abu Dhabi, UAE.; World Bank, Washington DC, USA; Modern Art Museum, Panama; Museum of Art and Design, San Jose, Costa Rica; University of Salamanca, Spain; Central Bank Museum, Cosa Rica; OlorVisual Collection, Barcelona, Spain; Deutsche Bank; Art Nexus, Miami, USA; North American Cultural Center, Lima; Setai Group, NY, USA; Four Seasons Hotel, Costa Rica; Ritz Carlton NY, USA; Ministry of Culture, Madrid, Spain; Wifredo Lam Institute, Havanna, Cuba; Teorética, San Jose, Costa Rica, among others.