Teresa Burga: Aleatory Structures

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The Grande Dame of Peruvian Contemporary Art

This comprehensive publication on the Peruvian artist Teresa Burga (b. Iquitos, Peru, 1935) accompanies her retrospective exhibition at the Zurich Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst (May 26–August 12, 2018) and provides an overview of her work from the 1960s to the present day—from her landmark installations Autorretrato. Estructura. Informe. 9.6.72 (“Self-Portrait. Structure. Report. 9.6.72,” 1972) and Perfil de la Mujer Peruana (“Profile of the Peruvian Woman,” 1980–1981) to her latest series of drawings. Her many-faceted oeuvre encompasses paintings and environments in the vein of Pop art, as well as conceptual drawings and cybernetic installations. This broad range of media, formal means, and aesthetic idioms goes hand in hand with a resolute thematic focus: Burga’s works are highly detailed protocols of the social realities of their time. With often playful precision, Burga highlights connections between causes and effects to draw attention to the individual’s ability to influence social conditions. As a female exponent of Latin American art, Burga was often ahead of her time. Only in the past few years have the local as well as international art scenes begun to pay closer attention to her work—a trend this publication aims to reinforce. Intertwined with specially commissioned essays by art historians and curators, this volume reflects on Burga’s artistic strategies and themes throughout her career as well as on the historical background of her artistic practice. The book includes essays by Dorota Biczel, Julieta González, Kalliopi Minioudaki, Cristiana Tejo and Jorge Villacorta, as well as an interview between Miguel A. López and Teresa Burga.

Teresa Burga lives and works in Lima, Peru. Her work has recently attracted growing interest around the world, with exhibitions at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2017), the Sculpture Center, New York (2017), Tate Modern, London (2015), MALBA, Buenos Aires (2015), the Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2015), the Art Institute of Chicago (2015), the Venice Biennale (2015), the Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros, Mexico City (2014), the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (2014), the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (2014), the Istanbul Biennale (2012), and the Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (2011).

Published with the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich.