Jorge Eielson

JORGE EIELSON (Lima, 1924 – Milan, 2006).
“Pyramid,” c. 1900.
Wood, plastic, and white cotton.
Bibliography: Archivio Eielson, Saronno #JE0681.
Provenance: Centro di Studi Jorge Eielson, Florence. Acquired from the aforementioned individual by the current owner.
Measurements: 30 x 35 x 35 cm.
Pyramids are a constant presence in the work of Jorge Eduardo Eielson, who draws on emblematic elements of Peru’s pre-Hispanic cultures to reinterpret them from a profoundly contemporary perspective. In his work, the landscape transcends its physical dimension to become a space for thought: a territory in which memory, matter, symbol, and image intertwine.In this context, the pyramid appears as a symbol of space and construction, closely linked to the architecture of ancient pre-Columbian cultures. Rather than representing a specific place, Eielson transforms it into an essential form, capable of evoking the relationship between human beings, the territory, and the cultural structures that inhabit it.
Jorge Eielson was one of the most important Peruvian artists and poets of the 20th century and a key figure in contemporary Latin American art. His career spanned Peru, Europe, and the United States, combining painting, sculpture, installation, performance, textile art, and poetry. His exploration of the quipu and the knot—inspired by the pre-Columbian Andean tradition—became one of the defining features of his artistic language. Throughout his extensive career, he exhibited at institutions such as the 36th Venice Biennale, the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, the Museum of Fine Arts in Caracas, and the Finnish Museum of Art and Design in Helsinki, in addition to participating in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
His work is included in major international public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the MALBA in Buenos Aires, the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art in Austin; and the Finnish Museum of Art and Design in Helsinki, among other institutions.