Feliciano Centurión

Critical text

Though his life was short and he remained on the fringes of the official art system, Feliciano Centurión (San Ignacio 1962–1996 Buenos Aires) was a key figure in the artistic revival that came about in Buenos Aires around the Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas in the 1990s. Born into a family of humble origins in Paraguay at the time of the ultra-conservative dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, Centurión grew up with his mother and grandmother in a village just outside the city of Formosa. In his art, he used traditionally feminine instruments and a popular style to examine issues of gender and sexuality. His fabric works, which in some cases have a strong sentimental vein, came after an initial period of experimentation with painting. In them he alternates stylised depictions of animals and mythical beings, taking up the textile tradition of the Guaraní people, coupled with short written texts or single words. After discovering in 1992 that he had contracted AIDS, he began to focus on the themes of love and suffering. Prior his premature death from the disease, he used embroidery and painting of everyday objects, such as blankets and aprons, to create a single coherent imagery, telling the story of his youth in the tropics, his experiences of love in the Argentine capital, and his spiritual reflections.

Text by Lorenzo Giusti