Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director, MASP, Yudi Rafael and Guilherme Giufrida, both assistant curators, MASP.

This retrospective exhibition presents over 80 works by Rosa Elena Curruchich (Comalapa, Guatemala, 1958–2005), a self-taught, indigenous Maya Kaqchikel painter. Curruchich was the granddaughter of the artist who popularized oil painting among the Kaqchikel in the 1930s. Among the first generation of women painters in this tradition, her work stands out for her approach to the pictorial legacy of recording the daily life and ceremonies of her people, with special attention to the huipil, a handcrafted piece of clothing worn by women. Fearing reprisals, the artist kept her practice a secret, which led her body of paintings to be marked by small formats for discreet transport. Recently, her work was featured in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. This is the artist’s first retrospective exhibition in Brazil.