Cecilia Paredes Peruvian, b. 1950

Biography

Cecilia Paredes explores the theme of identity through ethereal “photo performances,” in which she camouflages her body against beautifully patterned backdrops and disappears amongst the ornamentation. By presenting herself as part of the landscape, Paredes builds 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, Paredes often disguises herself against flora. The sweeping lines of foliage and 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. 

 

 The artist combines natural themes- 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 material pattern and represent myself as part of that landscape. Through this act, I am working on the theme of building my own identification with the environment where I live or where I feel I can call home.” – Cecilia Paredes. 

 

Her Fine Arts studies 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 received the 2022 Toro Iberoamerican Honor Prize in Zamora, Spain, and 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 Museum of Navarra, MUN, Pamplona, Spain; Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Russia and the Costa Rica Museum of Art, among others. 

Paredes's work is in numerous collections, including the Museo del Barrio, New York, NY; the San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Panama; the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, and the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.

 

VIEW ARTWORKS ON ARTSY

Works
  • Cupcake Rose
    Cecilia Paredes
    Cupcake Rose, 2023
    Photo performance inkjet print
    45 x 42 in
    114.3 x 106.7 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Los Astros
    Cecilia Paredes
    Los Astros, 2023
    Acylic paint and Swarovski crystals on canvas
    38.25 x 36.25 in
    97 x 92 cm
  • Rose Garden Hand
    Cecilia Paredes
    Rose Garden Hand, 2023
    Photo performance inkjet print
    30 x 20 in
    76.2 x 50.8 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Tapisserie
    Cecilia Paredes
    Tapisserie, 2023
    Photo performance inkjet print
    52 x 32 in
    132.1 x 81.3 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Walking in my Galaxy Blue
    Cecilia Paredes
    Walking in my Galaxy Blue, 2023
    Photo performance inkjet print
    39 x 45 in
    99.1 x 114.3 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Clorinda
    Cecilia Paredes
    Clorinda, 2022
    Photo performance inkjet print
    43 x 51 in
    109.2 x 129.5 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Clorinda
    Cecilia Paredes
    Clorinda, 2022
    Photo performance inkjet print
    20.08 x 23.22 in
    51 × 59 cm
    Edition of 6
  • Dafne Tall
    Cecilia Paredes
    Dafne Tall, 2022
    Photo performance inkjet print
    50 x 27 in
    127 x 68.6 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Gardenia Dream
    Cecilia Paredes
    Gardenia Dream, 2022
    Photo performance inkjet print
    31.25 x 26 in
    79.4 x 66 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Allegory
    Cecilia Paredes
    Allegory, 2020
    Photo performance inkjet print
    19 x 22 in
    48.3 x 55.9 cm
    Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Magnolia Stories
    Cecilia Paredes
    Magnolia Stories, 2020
    Photo performance inkjet print
    21 x 32 in
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Of Wings and Thorns
    Cecilia Paredes
    Of Wings and Thorns, 2020
    Photo performance inkjet print
    47 x 39 in
    119.4 x 99.1 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Paradise Hands IV
    Cecilia Paredes
    Paradise Hands IV, 2020
    Photo performance inkjet print
    15.8 x 23.6 in
    40 x 60 cm
    Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • The Forest
    Cecilia Paredes
    The Forest, 2019
    Photo performance inkjet print
    39 x 33 in
    99.1 x 83.8 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • The Voyage
    Cecilia Paredes
    The Voyage, 2019
    Photo performance inkjet print
    58 x 33.75 in
    147.3 x 85.6 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Zanzibar
    Cecilia Paredes
    Zanzibar, 2019
    Photo performance inkjet print
    58 x 37.5"
    147.3 x 95.3 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Shield
    Cecilia Paredes
    Shield, 2018
    Photo performance inkjet print
    52 x 35 in
    132.1 x 88.9 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 AP
  • The Secret
    Cecilia Paredes
    The Secret, 2018
    Photo performance inkjet print
    55 x 33 in
    139.7 x 83.8 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • The Three Graces
    Cecilia Paredes
    The Three Graces, 2018
    Photo performance inkjet print
    58 x 124"
    147.3 x 315 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Hermitage I
    Cecilia Paredes
    Hermitage I, 2017
    Photo performance inkjet print
    52 x 34 in
    132.1 x 86.4 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • The River Within
    Cecilia Paredes
    The River Within, 2016
    Photo performance inkjet print
    49 x 42"
    124.4 x 106.6 cm
    3 / 7 plus 3 AP
  • Calabria
    Cecilia Paredes
    Calabria, 2015
    Photo performance inkjet print
    37.5 x 46 in
    95.2 x 116.8 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 AP
  • Silk
    Cecilia Paredes
    Silk, 2015
    Photo performance inkjet print
    41 x 37.5"
    104.1 x 95.2 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 AP
  • Corinthians
    Cecilia Paredes
    Corinthians, 2014
    Photo performance inkjet print
    21.5 x 21.5"
    54.6 x 54.6 cm
    Edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • En Tus Alturas (In the Height of Your Sky)
    Cecilia Paredes
    En Tus Alturas (In the Height of Your Sky), 2014
    Photo performance inkjet print
    42.5 x 42.5"
    108 x 108 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Meditative Mermaid
    Cecilia Paredes
    Meditative Mermaid, 2011
    Photo performance inkjet print
    22 x 22"
    55.8 x 55.8 cm
    Edition 3/5 plus 2 AP
  • Lily
    Cecilia Paredes
    Lily, 2009
    Photo performance inkjet print on aluminum
    21.5 x 21.5"
    54.6 x 54.6 cm
    Edition 2/3 plus 2 AP
  • Highland Lake
    Cecilia Paredes
    Highland Lake, 2007
    Photo performance inkjet print
    55 x 55"
    139.7 x 139.7 cm
    3/3
Press
Exhibitions
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