Sandra Monterroso

Sandra Monterroso in her Guatemala City studio.

Sandra Monterroso, Vida azul. From the series " Wounds can also be dyed blue.", 2019. Sculpture, yarn dyed with indigo, and Tocoyales [headdresses made of textiles, part of Mayan clothing in western Guatemala]. Assembled in steel., 23 9/16 x 23 9/16 x 15 3/4 in.

Sandra Monterroso, Expoliada III. From the series " Wounds can also be dyed blue.", 2016. Yarn dyed with indigo and wood., 70 13/16 x 31 1/2 x 4 11/16 in.

Sandra Monterroso, Tejido 3, 2019. Indigofera guatemalensis, acrylic pigments and resins on paper, 47 3/16 x 47 3/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #24, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #25, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #26, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Sandra Monterroso, Composición del día #27, 2020. Watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #32, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #35, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #44, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Composición del día #45, 2020. Watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Sandra Monterroso, Composición del día #28, 2020. Watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Cuarentena composición del día #57, 2020, watercolor, charcoal on paper, 12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.

Biography

SANDRA MONTERROSO
[1974, Guatemala]

Sandra Monterroso began her artistic career in performance art in 1999. She earned a B.A. in Graphic Design in 2001 followed by an M.A. in Design from Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) in Puebla, Mexico. In 2020, Monterroso earned a PhD in Art Practice from the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien in Vienna, Austria. She has represented Guatemala in more than twelve biennials, including the 56th La Biennale di Venezia, the 12 Bienal de La Habana, and the Frestas - Trienal de Artes in São Paulo. Monterroso lives and works in Guatemala City.

In her work, Monterroso explores the dynamics of indigenous culture in the postcolonial era, gender issues, and other constructs of power across media including tapestry, painting, video, installation, and performance. Her influences include Cindy Sherman (USA), Gina Pane (France), Carolee Schneemann (USA), Ana Mendieta (Cuba), and Marina Abramović (Serbia), as she explores issues of identity and relational dynamics between genders and cultures. As Monterroso explains, “Behind the silence and the paradox of modernity and coloniality, I start taking as a symbolic reference more particularly the Mayan Q’eqchi’ language as an inheritance from my grandmother, whose linguistic structure is completely metaphorical.”

Monterroso has shown her work in selected exhibitions around the world, including the Bienal de Artes Visuales del Istmo Centroamericano (BAVIC), Museo de Arte de El Salvador (Museo MARTE), San Salvador, El Salvador (2006); Indigenous Voices, La Biennale di Venezia, Padiglione America Latina-IILA, Venice, Italy (2015); Art-Action Feministe: Panorama de la vidéo-performance féministe contemporaine latino-américaine, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2009); Cosmópolis II, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2019); To Weave in Blue, Poema al Tejido, The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art, University of Memphis, Tennessee, USA (2020); and Visionarios, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain (2009).

Monterroso’s work is included in the permanent collections of Centro de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián, Managua, Nicaragua; Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), Colchester, England, UK; Fundación Paiz, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo (MADC), San José, Costa Rica; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain; YES Contemporary, Miami, Florida, USA; and many private collections.

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Selected Solo Exhibitions

2023
Decolorando las Hebras and Colorando las Hebras (video, 2011), Arts of the Ancient Americas Jewel Box Gallery, Denver Art Museum, CO, USA
Sandra Monterroso: The Healing Paradox, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA

2022
Altar para pájaros, Instituto de Visión, New York, NY, USA
Cuerpos Infinitos: Sandra Monterroso, Musiq' / Breath of the spirit, Casa del Lago UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
Cuerpos Infinitos: Sandra Monterroso, Heart of the Windy Place (performance), Casa del Lago UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico

2020
Threads of Memory, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA
Dyed in the wool - the committed poetics of nonconformity, Cecilia Brunson Projects, London, UK
Artwork in Focus - Sandra Monterroso: Tu Ashé Yemanya, Cecilia Brunson Projects, London, UK

2019
Las heridas también se tiñen de azul, Centro Cultural de España, Guatemala City, Guatemala
El agua se volvió oro, el río se volvió oro, el oro se volvió azul, Museo ExTeresa, Mexico City, Mexico

2018
Hybris, NG Gallery, Panama City, Panama

2017
Inchaq'na / Hermana Mayor, French Alliance, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Distorsiones e imperfecciones, The 9.99 Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2014
Acciones para abolir el deseo, The 9.99 Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2013
Efectos cruzados, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, San Salvador, El Salvador

2011
Efectos cruzados, Galería Piegatto (Arte La Fábrica), Guatemala City, Guatemala

2009
Meditando el error, Galería de Artes Visuales, Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2008
Rakoc Atin. Palacio de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2005
Sucesos Carcomidos, Galería El Attico, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2004
Metabolismo, Centro Cultural de España, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1999
Ave Fénix, Vestíbulo BANCAFÉ, Guatemala City, Guatemala

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