Exhibit is a US first

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Animal Collar. Ayacucho region, Peru, early 20th century. Wool.

      (PNAN-NM) – Set to open at the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) in Santa Fe, “Folk Art of the Andes” on Sunday, April 17, is the first exhibit to bring to US a wide range of folk art from the Andean region of South America, featuring more than 850 artworks dating from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Virgin Mary. Cajamarca region, Peru, late 19th century. Wood, paint, metal, glass.

     Curator Dr. Barbara Mauldin says, “The Folk Art of the Andes exhibit explores the influence of Spanish arts and cultural introduced during the colonial period and shows how much of the work produced after independence in 1829 reflects the interweaving of indigenous craft traditions with European art forms and techniques.”

     The Andean people of the highland region of South America are prominent among the folk art legacies of the world and the MOIFA Andean folk art collection began with an initial gift from the museum’s founder Florence Dibell Bartlett, who through her initial gift has grown to more than 6,000 objects, to include religious paintings, sculptures, portable altars, milagros, amulets and ritual offerings, as well as traditional hand woven ponchos, mantles, belts and bags, along with

Left: Tea Kettle. Bolivia, 19th century. Silver. Private Collection. Right: Water Heater. Southern highlands, Peru, late 18th–early 19th century. Silver.

 women’s skirts, hats and shawls adapted from the Spanish.  In addition, jewelry, wooden trunks, silverwork, majolica ceramics, carved gourds, house blessing ornaments and toys reveal not only the exceptional craftsmanship, but also the ways the objects were used in everyday life.

     The show will remain on view through September 2012, also includes in its programming a 300-page illustrated catalog, as well as additional scheduled events. This is exhibit also offers goers to examine the lavish costumes and variety of masks used by the Andean people in their festival cycles.

Julio Villalobos, Group of Musicians. Cuzco, Peru, ca. 1960. Pasta, paint.

     For more information, see www.internationalfolkart.org or call 505-476.1200.