Wikipedia

Ana Maria Pacheco

Ana Maria Pacheco (born 1943) is a Brazilian sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Her work is influenced by her Brazilian heritage and often focuses on supernatural themes, incorporating them into unfolding narratives within her work.[1] Pacheco's work has been displayed in galleries internationally and has won multiple awards throughout her career.[2]

Ana Maria Pacheco
Pacheco working on a polychrome sculpture
Born1943 (age 80–81)
Goiânia, Brazil
Known forSculpture, Painting, Printmaking

Life

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Pacheco was born in Goiás, Brazil in 1943.[3] While living in Brazil, she studied Sculpture and Music from Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás and the Federal University of Goiás.[2] She subsequently completed a postgraduate course in Music and Education at the Federal University of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.[2] She later taught and lectured at these institutions before she moving to London in 1973 to study at the Slade School of Art on a British Council Scholarship.[2] Between 1985 and 1989, Pacheco was the first woman Head of Fine Art at the Norwich School of Art.[4] She received the Ordem de Rio Branco from the Brazilian government in 1999.[4] In 2002, she was made an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy by The Senate of East Anglia University in partnership with the Norwich School of Art.[3] She was made a Fellow of University College London in 2003.[4]

Career

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Pacheco's work commonly focuses on travel, often with themes exploring fantasy and the supernatural.[1] Regular examples include Brazilian legends, Mythology, Christian mysticism, and Medieval satire.[5] Her artworks depict narratives that are discovered by the viewer through their experience of looking, specifically playing on their curiosity to arouse their interest and imagination.[1] Her work is also a reflection on humanity, explaining that her "art shows us how vulnerable we are ".[6] She claims that her biggest influence is O Aleijadinho.[7]

Pacheco is best known for her multi-figure groups of polychrome sculptures carved from wood. These are typically exhibited as installation pieces and include Man and his Sheep (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) and Dark Night of the Soul (1999), created during her residency at the National Gallery, London as a response to The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian by the Pollaiuolo brothers.[citation needed]

Pacheco (with a team of two helpers) produced a large figure in yellow limestone for the Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival of 1986.[citation needed]

Pacheco was the first sculptor Associate Artist at the National Gallery in London between 1997 and 2000.[4] The exhibition Ana Maria Pacheco: New Painting and Sculpture toured the UK after display at the National Gallery from 29 September 1999 to 9 January 2000.[8]

In 2015 Pacheco's work was displayed in four simultaneous exhibitions across venues in Norwich.[4] The exhibitions were curated by Keith Roberts for the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society in association with Pratt Contemporary.[4] The exhibitions were displayed at The GALLERY, Norwich University of the Arts, Norwich Cathedral, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, and The Cathedral of St John the Baptist.[4] On discussing the exhibitions, Roberts said "Ana’s art encompasses large and enduring themes; violence, journeys, death, love, transformation and metamorphosis reflect her high seriousness, but at the same time her work is neither pompous nor devoid of humour."[4]

Dispersing the Night was an exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral curated by Jacquiline Creswell in association with Pratt Contemporary which included Pacheco's work.[9] The exhibition opened on 23 July 2017.[9] It was at this exhibition that Pacheco's work Be Aware was first publicly displayed.[9] On the exhibition, Creswell said: '"The theme of the exhibition is hope, an optimistic attitude, and a firm belief in the positive side of human nature along with its power to drive the darkness from our lives.... Ana Maria’s work makes us aware of our vulnerability as well as illuminating our humanity. It allows us to reflect on the way we frail, brave humans deal with our journey of life, its many contradictions and dimensions of reality – the imperfectability of existence."'[9]

Exhibitions

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Awards and Appointments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ana Maria Pacheco | Artists | CASS Sculpture Foundation". www.sculpture.org.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au "Ana Maria Pacheco - sculptor, painter and printmaker". Pratt Contemporary. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Ana Maria Pacheco - ARU". aru.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ana Maria Pacheco". Art in Norwich. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Ana Maria Pacheco". The Royal Drawing School. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Ana Maria Pacheco Sculpture". Norwich University of the Arts. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Ana Maria Pacheco". AWARE Women artists / Femmes artistes. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Ana Maria Pacheco | Associate Artist Scheme | National Gallery, London". www.nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d "Art exhibition exploring the human state through a range of materials and perspectives has opened". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  • ADLER, Kathleen. "The Power of Imagination". Art Quarterly, Autumn 2007
  • SZIRTES, George. "Exercise of Power: The Art of Ana Maria Pacheco". 1994 Lund Humphries
  • CAREY, Frances. "The Prints of Ana Maria Pacheco". Print Quarterly, V, September 1988, pp. 272-283

Further reading

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  • KOCIEJOWSKI, Marius. God's Zoo: Artists, Exiles, Londoners (Carcanet, 2014) contains a biographical chapter "Ana Maria Pacheco's Journey to the Underworld, or, Misfortunes of a Sardine".
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