Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

Art critic Juan Acha writes about the retrospective of the Venezuelan abstract artist Mercedes Pardo, held at Museo de Arte Moderno de México. He argues that the exhibition of over twenty years of artistic production (1952–78) shows us [...]

Juan Acha discusses the exhibition of Fernando de Szyszlo’s series of paintings inspired by the indigenous poem “Apu Inca Atawallpaman,” an event that was organized by the Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo (IAC) in Lima. Acha finds the [...]

Juan Acha argues that national identities are based on the sense of belonging to a tradition, one which transcends and regulates the adoption of foreign models. Therefore, “nationality” rests on a balance between the continuity of what is [...]

In this essay the author, Juan Acha describes the setting and diversity of the elements in the exhibition room where Gloria Gómez Sánchez mounted her installation Yllomomo. These include card boards, rubbish, unusable objects, objects that were [...]

In the introductory essay in the catalogue for the group exhibition Nuevas tendencias en la plástica peruana (1968), Juan Acha discusses the different views associated with the concepts of “universal” and “local” in developing countries. He [...]

In his review of the exhibition of works by the Arte Nuevo group at MALI (Museo de Arte de Lima) in November 1966, Juan Acha states that the first thing a visitor becomes aware of is “the presence of a spirit of renewal.” But he clarifies that he [...]

This is an anonymous review (which can be attributed to Juan Acha) of the second one-man show of paintings and an “installation” by Luis Arias Vera. Referring to an epigraph in the catalogue, the critic quotes Pierre Restany, who hopes to become [...]

This is Juan Acha’s review of Mimuy, the installation that was exhibited at the IAC (Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo) in Lima in late 1965. Acha mentions the incident that occurred before the exhibition opened. The complaint lodged by the Bolivian [...]

The critic Juan Acha discusses the imminent opening of three exhibitions in Lima in late 1965—the installation Mimuy and the solo shows by Luis Arias Vera and Gloria Gómez Sánchez—which the critic describes as “very important.” Acha says [...]

In this article signed “J. Nahuaca”—the anagram he used as an alias—Peruvian critic Juan Acha reflects on whether or not there is a painting tradition in Peru. He discusses the current state of painting on the occasion of the Premio [...]

This article by Juan Acha addresses the relationship between nationalism and painting. To the writer, Peruvianized painting is usually identified by its iconography. In this regard, he acknowledges that “[d]esde un punto de vista estético-socioló [...]

In this article signed “J. Nahuaca”—the anagram he used as an alias—critic Juan Acha addresses the relationship between nationalism and painting in Peru. He points out “the pressure” that nationalist concerns, which he considers “ [...]

In this text, Juan Acha recognizes the importance of Sérvulo Gutiérrez’s life and art for Peruvian painting, acknowledging that he is an integral part of “our national reality.” Notwithstanding, Acha clarifies, any attempt to go beyond those [...]

This document is the second letter sent by Juan Acha to Edgardo Pérez Luna, art critic for Lima-based El Comercio newspaper, where he defends the pertinence of his prologue to the catalogue to Exposición Homenaje, an exhibition in honor of painter [...]

This document is the first letter that Juan Acha sent to Edgardo Pérez Luna, art critic for Lima-based newspaper El Comercio. In it, Acha defends the text he wrote for the catalogue to the Sérvulo Gutiérrez retrospective, explaining that— [...]

This text by Juan Acha, signed with the anagram of his name J. Nahuaca, was published in the catalogue to the Exposición Homenaje, a show organized by the Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo (IAC) in Lima in honor of painter Sérvulo Gutiérrez. Acha [...]

This text by Juan Acha is an important contribution to the debate that arose when Luis Zevallos Hetzel’s work, Motociclista No. 3, won the grand prize at the painting competition organized by the Festivales de Ancón. Acha questions the accusation [...]

In this article, the cultural theorist Juan Acha discusses efforts to create an official image of Túpac Amaru II, the indigenous hero of Peruvian independence. In Acha’s opinion, the inability to achieve this goal takes an “emotional toll, due [...]

Juan Acha presents his essay on the object and installation art Dorado [Golden] by Venezuelan conceptual artist Pedro Terán, which was exhibited in the Espacio Alterno at the Galeria de Arte Nacional in Caracas (1983). He highlights Terán’s [...]

Juan Acha examines the rationale advanced by those who, in line with the “new pictorial awareness” of the middle of the century, see greater relevance in abstract painting than in the outdated values of the figurative ideal. The main idea [...]

This article, which was published in the Revista Arte en Colombia [Art in Colombia Magazine] in 1981, discusses the Peruvian critic Juan Acha’s interest in the potential of video as an artistic medium. After reviewing video’s technical aspects, [...]

In “Teoría y prácticas no-objetualistas en América Latina” [Non-Objectualist Theory and Practice in Latin America], Juan Acha, the Peruvian art critic who lived in Mexico, explains the basis of his theory concerning [...]

In this text written in 1981, Mexican-based Peruvian art critic Juan Acha provides an analysis of biennials in general on the occasion of the close of the Bienal Latinoamericana de São Paulo (BLSP)—a one-time event parallel to the traditional São [...]

In this text, Juan Acha responds to Aracy A. Amaral’s article arguing that the installation entitled Etsedrón, which appeared at the 1975 (XIII) São Paulo Biennial (October 17-December 14), constituted a promising new direction for Latin [...]

In this text, Juan Acha poses the question, “Does present-day Latin American art exist as a distinct expression?”, that is, as a way of examining the broader and more fundamental question of what constitutes an original aesthetic expression. He [...]

In his presentation, the theorist and critic Juan Acha—whose central theme is on the analysis of the processes of artistic work and its technical divisions—makes a cursory historical overview on the topic before addressing the case of Latin [...]

Juan Acha, the Peruvian critic and historian who has lived in Mexico long time ago, claims that it is a mistake to see art criticism as an appendix to artistic expression. According to Acha, art criticism “should examine artistic reality and [...]