Artist Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, born in 1982 and based in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, presents his solo exhibition “Umbilical Cord” at Elizabeth Xi Bauer gallery in London. The show, on view through August 2, 2025, features new and recent works that explore Maya visual culture, Indigenous craft traditions, and the knot as both a formal element and a metaphor for connection, life, and time. A 3:22-minute video from 2021 shows the artist in a forest with traditional weaving materials, while the exhibition also marks the gallery’s announcement of representing the artist.
The exhibition matters because it highlights the growing visibility of Indigenous contemporary artists in the global art world, bridging ancient Maya heritage with cutting-edge artmaking. The show coincides with the release of the major publication “Ombligo Tierra (Navel-Earth),” curated by the artist, offering a comprehensive survey of his career and deepening engagement with Guatemalan culture. This signals a broader institutional and market recognition of practices that center Indigenous knowledge and craft traditions within contemporary art discourse.