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Artistic homecoming

Catalina Parra's collages to go on display in Chile

The artist from one of Chile's most famous families will exhibit a collection of works exploring social issues in Argentina, where she served as cultural attaché between 2000 and 2005.

Monday, September 05, 2011  
The Chilean artist's work will be displayed in the Santiago district of Providencia. (Photo: Jorge F The Chilean artist's work will be displayed in the Santiago district of Providencia. (Photo: Jorge Felipe Gonzalez/flickr)

After a nine year absence, Catalina Parra is returning home to Chile to exhibit her latest artwork at Galería D21 in Santiago. The daughter of renowned poet Nicanor Parra and the niece of famed folk musician Violeta Parra, Catalina has spent much of her life abroad and currently lives in New York.

In 1968 at the age of 28, the young artist went to Germany where she planned on studying art, until she had a conversation with her father that completely changed her perspective.

“I told him I wanted to study fine arts at university,” Parra told La Tercera. “And he replied: 'You're crazy! Do you think I went somewhere to be taught how to write poems?' In that moment I decided to learn from life itself and nothing else.”

In Germany, the young artist immersed herself in the experimental works of artists such as Joseph Beuys and John Heartfield, which along with major world events like the Vietnam War and the 1969 student uprising in Paris, helped to shape her work. And while Parra's art has always had a political bent, it also began to be influenced by everyday themes found in advertising and the mass media.

In her upcoming exhibition in Santiago, Parra remains true to her lifetime commitment to social issues. The display at D21 will consist of a series of collages inspired by political ideas and public issues in Argentina, where the artist served as a cultural attaché to Chile’s Ricardo Lagos government between 2000 and 2005. Using photos, X-rays and press clippings, the collages depict a broad range of themes including homelessness, the floods that affect the Argentine capital most winters, tango, soccer and protests.

“During those years I didn't have time to do my art but now I have resumed with a series of works inspired by Buenos Aires,” she said in the interview with La Tercera. “Making artworks is the way I take possession of a place. I like to walk through the city, taking photos and reading the [local] newspapers. I'm interested in everything that's happening.”

The exhibition runs from Monday, Sept.3 until Saturday, Oct. 8. Galería D21 is located at Apartment 21, 19 Nueva de Lyon in the Providencia district and is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.