Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa
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ARTIST PROFILE
Guatemala, 1978
His work, which includes the performance, His work in the fields of painting, sound, drawing and sculpture explores themes of loss, displacement and cultural resistance, often with an absurd and humorous approach. The Guatemalan Civil War is a recurring theme in his work. He holds a BFA from Emily Carr University in Vancouver and an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a research fellow at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. He has exhibited at institutions such as MoMA in New York, the Tate in London, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. He has received the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Mies Van Der Rohe Award.
Crédito de foto / Photo credit
Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa. De espiral en espiral, 2025. Vista de instalación. Sede: Museo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala. Foto: Byron Mármol. Cortesía: Fundación Paiz / Bienal de Arte Paiz
Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa. The CYVA, 2024. Installation view. Venue: Museo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala. Photo: Byron Mármol. Courtesy: Fundación Paiz / Bienal de Arte Paiz
Obras participantes en la bienal
ES
De espiral en espiral
2025
Performance producida por la Fundación TB21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary en colaboración con Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía y BoCA – Biennial of
Contemporary Arts, con el apoyo de Galerie Nordenhake Berlin/Stockholm/Mexico City,
Mendes Wood DM São Paulo/Brussels/Paris/New York, Proyectos Ultravioleta Guatemala City, Sies + Höke Düsseldorf y Performance Art Museum.
De espiral en espiral
2025
130 cartas bordadas
Puntadas básicas y pedrería sobre lienzo de algodón
25 x 15 (cada una)
Coordinación de Bordadoras: Noemi Acajabón Colón
Bordadoras:
Andrea Branher
Mishell Nuñez
Katherine Nuñez
Lucrecia Salvador
Telma Pineda
Mafer Colindres
Elvira López
Daniela López
Katherine Zepeda
Sarha Chicohay
Ana Llamas
Darling Sandoval
Lesly Sandoval
Fantyna de León
Ani Garcia
Eufemia Gonzalez
Ester Aceytuno
Mayra Benitez
Gabriela Juarez
Karla Yanina
Lorena Samayoa
Cortesía del artista
De espiral en espiral es una obra que entrelaza la historia colonial europea con los recuerdos íntimos del linaje familiar de Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, a través de una revisión de la producción y los usos de los naipes. El monopolio de los naipes se convirtió en una de las principales fuentes de ingresos de la monarquía española, cuya fabricación estaba estrictamente controlada por la Corona, que buscaba erradicar la falsificación y su uso en el juego. Sin embargo, en manos de las mujeres de la familia de Ramírez-Figueroa, las cartas se convirtieron en otra cosa: una herramienta para la lectura adivinatoria y un medio de supervivencia económica.
Cada prenda está compuesta por varias cartas meticulosamente bordadas a mano por tejedoras guatemaltecas, estableciendo una conexión directa con la herencia de la artista y con los saberes artesanales indígenas. A partir de este sistema simbólico, el artista crea un traje original que servirá tanto como un objeto escultórico como un instrumento performativo.
EN
From Spiral to Spiral
2025
Performance produced by the TB21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Foundation in collaboration with the Reina Sofía National Art Museum and BoCA – Biennial of
Contemporary Arts, with the support of Galerie Nordenhake Berlin/Stockholm/Mexico City,
Mendes Wood DM São Paulo/Brussels/Paris/New York, Proyectos Ultravioleta Guatemala City, Sies + Höke Düsseldorf, and Performance Art Museum
From Spiral to Spiral
2025
130 embroidered cards
Basic stitches and rhinestones on cotton canvas
25 x 15 (each)
Coordination of Embroiderers: Noemi Acajabón Colón
Embroiderers:
Andrea Branher
Mishell Nuñez
Katherine Nuñez
Lucrecia Salvador
Telma Pineda
Mafer Colindres
Elvira López
Daniela López
Katherine Zepeda
Sarha Chicohay
Ana Llamas
Darling Sandoval
Lesly Sandoval
Fantyna de León
Ani Garcia
Eufemia Gonzalez
Ester Aceytuno
Mayra Benitez
Gabriela Juarez
Karla Yanina
Lorena Samayoa
Courtesy of the artist
From Spiral to Spiral is a work that intertwines European colonial history with the intimate memories of Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa’s family lineage, through a revisitation of the production and uses of playing cards naipes. The playing card monopoly became one of the main sources of revenue for the Spanish Monarchy, with its manufacturing tightly controlled by the Crown, which sought to eradicate forgery and its use in gambling. In the hands of the women in Ramírez-Figueroa’s family, however, the cards became something else: a tool for divinatory reading and a means of economic survival.
Each garment is composed of various cards, meticulously hand-embroidered by Guatemalan weavers, establishing a direct connection with the artist’s heritage and indigenous artisanal knowledge. Based on this symbolic system, the artist creates an original costume that functions simultaneously as a sculptural object and a performative element.