Violeta Quispe has been awarded Second Prize at the XVII National Painting Competition of the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP), one of the key art awards in Peru. Her work Qincha Wichqana was selected by a jury composed of Moico Yaker, Sharon Lerner, Gabriela Germaná, María del Pilar Riofrío and Vera Tyuleneva. With the prize, the work enters the collection of the BCRP.
Qincha Wichqana takes the form of a gate. Painted wooden slats are bound with rope between two striped posts. Across them, Quispe narrates scenes of community life, music, work and ritual, accompanied by handwritten texts. The piece draws on the Tablas de Sarhua, the painted boards that record the life and memory of the Quechua community of Sarhua, in Ayacucho. Quispe expands that tradition into sculptural form.
The award comes at a significant moment for the artist. It follows her participation in the 60th Venice Biennale and the recent acquisition of her works by two French Frac collections. It also marks a growing recognition of her practice in her home country.
