Manuela Viera-Gallo

Under The Time

Oil on canvas

“[This] series delves into the compelling narrative of Beatrice Cenci (1577-1599), an enduring symbol of resistance against oppression.

As an artist, I am deeply influenced by the feminist movement and its ongoing struggle for equality and empowerment. Through my art, I aim to contribute to this dialogue by portraying the strength, resilience, and complexity of women's experiences. My paintings serve as a visual narrative that sheds light on the multifaceted nature of womanhood, from the personal to the political, from the historical to the contemporary.

For the past seven years, my focus has been on the following issues: the protest movement of women, the beginning of disassembling patriarchal systems in political and civic arenas, and my experience of motherhood and the inequalities of being an immigrant Latina in New York City.”

— Manuela Viera-Gallo

About the artist

Manuela Viera-Gallo

Manuela Viera-Gallo is a Chilean artist who has been residing and working in New York for over 18 years. She was born in Rome, Italy, during her parents' political exile, and lived there until the age of 8, after which her family returned to Santiago, Chile, where she completed her education under Pinochet dictatorship and studied art during a period of fresh air democracy. Her perspective has been profoundly influenced by the social and political upheavals that have marked the history of many Latin American countries, as well as by a lifetime of migration. Viera-Gallo's artistic practice encompasses a diverse body of work that employs absurdity to manipulate and distort familiar symbols and imagery within an allegorical, fantastical, and darkly comical framework. She earned her MFA at the Catholic University in Chile before relocating to Brooklyn at the age of 27.

In 2022, she presented a solo retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago. Her work has been showcased internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including solo shows in São Paulo, Brazil (2023), at the Untitled Art Fair in Miami (2022), the Core Club in NYC (2021), Aninat Gallery in Chile (2019), the Public Sector Art Basel in Miami (2017), the Volta Art Fair (2016), Y Gallery in NYC (2015), SP-ART FAIR in Brazil (2014), La Central Gallery in Colombia (2013), the Arteba Fair in Buenos Aires, Argentina (2012), the Valenzuela & Klenner Foundation in Bogota, Colombia (2007), Broadway 1602 Gallery in New York (2007), Die Ecke Gallery in Chile (2006), Rebecca Container Gallery in Italy (2005), 24/7 Gallery, and Museo Laboratorio di Arte Contemporanea in Rome (2024).