Zuly Palomino - September 2023
Zuly Palomino Jiménez was born in Lima, Peru, of Andean migrants. She is a Quechua/Quichua of Peru. She was born in a long line of retablistas, creators of traditional devotional works of art known as Retablos.
Zuly belongs to the fourth generation of his family that continues with the artisanal tradition using potato and plaster to make figures for the altarpiece is a box that tells the stories.
Retablos are a popular art form in Latin American Catholic communities, generally responsible for honoring or thanking a saint for their help and protection during the difficult times of life. These works of art vary from region to region, and appear as small, three -dimensional paintings in recycled materials, and dioramas.
The figures in the altarpieces are of vibrant color and action, the minute details are made with very fine stems or the spines of a cactus. After each piece is sculpted, it is then incorporated into a larger scene. The artwork can take weeks, months, or even years to complete.
Zuly has spent a lot of time in Ayacucho, the traditional home of her parents, listening to Andean legends and stories from her grandparents, which profoundly shaped her vision of the world, creative inclinations, and her inspiration for nature, everyday life, the rural community of Peru.
She is only the second female creator of this art (retablista) in Peru (after her mother, Eleudora Jimenez), and the first female retablista in the United States, as this was previously a male-dominated medium.
Her family works have been displayed in several countries such as Colombia, Chile, Mexico and the United States. Zuly’s family retablos have been featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum and the Museum of Man in San Diego.
She also participated in the International Popular Art Market, the Boston Arts Festival, the Narraganset Art Festival, the New England Folk Festival Association – NEFFA, The Collaborative 02885 and the Bristol State Street Fair & Arts Festival.
Zuly Palomino is certified by the National Artisan Directory of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Peru.
