Strawberry

“I placed these portraits within landscapes inspired by colors and the natural habitat of Latina America. These paintings are also influenced by my cultural heritage and the pigments of the Mapuche, an indigenous group in South America with a rich tradition in textile work. The women were in charge of spinning and weaving wool, transmitting knowledge from generation to generation, and playing an important economic and cultural role in different parts of South America.

The ‘Tutti Frutti’ series is inspired by women's portraiture in art history and a need to represent the female form from a vantage point of pleasure in a dignified way. From the dawn of time, women had to cope with difficult and complex situations, solving practical life matters with a multiplicity of roles, such as mother, child bearer, home owner, breadwinner, and lover to name a few. With these portraits, I wanted to celebrate their strength by giving them homage and inserting them in these fantastical landscapes, giving them beauty at its fullest." — Manuela Viera Gallo