A solo exhibition curated by Gloria Garafulich-Grabois
Opening Reception | Friday, September 16 from 6:00 to 8:00pm
Journeys: Catalonia & Euskadi—a seriesinspired in both, the artist’s 2013 as well as her previous visits to Catalonia and her early childhood memories of her father’s family in the Basque Country
In 2013, the series Journeys: Catalonia & Euskadi was shown at La Galería Gallery, in Barcelona, Spain as part of a joint exhibit entitledDos Mujeres Dos Gestos (Two Women Two Gestures.) The artwork remained in Barcelona until Unanue’s most recent visit to Spain in the Fall of 2015 for her latest exhibit in “My Ancient Land,” at Barcelona’s Casa Elizalde.
This time, the artwork did returned to the United States, and from September 16 – October 16,2016 at the St. Asaph Gallery in Bala Cynwyd, PA, the series will be exhibited for the first time in this country.
About Journeys: Catalonia & Euskadi Series
Journey: Catalonia is inspired by the artist’s 2013 and previous visits to Catalonia. In her work, the artist imagines travelling from continent to continent, crossing the Atlantic Ocean either by air or by sea. “From above I observe the earth and its force in the waves of the ocean.” Either enlarged sections of Catalonian maps or of the street of Barcelona crisscross the sky, suggesting—in collage style—Gaudi’s mosaics; or the free lines of Miro’s or Picasso’s abstract language.
Journey: Euskadi was inspired by the artist’s memories of her early childhood and memories of her father’s family in the Basque Country. Engraved in her mind is the map of a large and mysterious land named Euskadi—the Basque language name of the Basque Country—that hanged on her grandparents home in Santiago, Chile as a constant reminder of her grandfather’s native land. “I studied the lines of the map to fully understand the country where my grandfather Ignacio was born. Years later, I visited Euskadi, his house and met my extended family, there—at that moment I understood and this understanding has since strengthened my connection with my own Basque roots.”
About the artist
Jacqueline Unanue is a Chilean born visual artist of Spanish ancestry residing in Philadelphia (PA), since 2000. She studied design at the Universidad de Chile de Valparaíso. While a student, she became interested in the rock art found in her native country. With her husband Ricardo Guajardo, also a designer and artist, she traveled extensively through Chile’s Atacama Desert, doing on-site rock art research in the solitary and awe-inspiring valleys, mountains and cliff areas that contain art that was carved or painted thousands of years ago. She also traveled to Spain to study the pre-historic paintings of the Altamira caves in the Basque Country, which being the home of her paternal ancestors connected her to her roots.
In 1989 she received the Honorable Invitation, “Primeras Jornadas del Color,” an International Art Encounter, Lecture Series and on-site art works, at Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain; and the Critic’s Award in Visual Arts from the Valparaíso Art Critics Association in Chile. On two occasions she was awarded grants sponsored by DIRAC, the Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile for her exhibits at Guayasamín Foundation, Quito, Ecuador (1997), and at the IDB Inter-American Development Bank, in Washington DC (2000). In addition to numerous individual and group exhibitions in Chile since 1983, has also exhibited in Spain, Finland, Ecuador, Argentina, and the United States—in galleries in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. In 2013 and 2015 she exhibited in Barcelona, Spain. In 2015, she received the Latin American Women in Art and Cultural Tribute recognition in New York.
Her work is featured among others in: PNC Tower, Pittsburgh, PA; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA; Gabriela Mistral Foundation, Inc. (New York); Les Bernardes Gallery, Salt-Gerona, Catalonia, Spain; Consell Comarcal del Pallars Jussà (Lérida), Catalonia, Spain; Diners Club Collection, Quito, Ecuador; and numerous museums, universities, and institutions in Chile as well as in private collections in: Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, United States, Spain and Germany.
She currently lives in Philadelphia and is represented by the 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia.
Gallery hours
Monday trough Friday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm,
or by appointment