Manuel Chavajay
Manuel Chavajay
The work of Manuel Chavajay (1982, San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala), a Tz’utujil Maya artist, bears strong ties to the artist's indigenous origins. Primarily inhabiting the Lake Atitlán region in the highlands of Guatemala, the Tz’tujil have their own unique language, culture, and traditions that distinguish them from within the broader Mayan cultural spectrum. Making Tz’utujil language and land a frequent reference in his work, the practice of Manuel Chavajay explores, through the construction of small narratives, themes connected to the complex history of Guatemala, its indigenous heritage, struggle for independence, and more recent efforts towards stability and development. Land in this context is not merely seen as a resource but as a core aspect of indigenous identity, tracing historical connections and cultural practices and pointing at the multifaceted relationship between indigenous cultures and nature, which encompass complex spiritual, cultural, environmental, and socio-economic dimensions. Working across a wide range of media, including sculpture, painting, or video, Chavajay’s works address the need to preserve and respect the undisputable connection between man and land not only for the well-being of indigenous communities but also for the broader goal of global environmental conservation and universal cultural diversity.
His work has been presented at institutions such as El Museo del Barrio, New York, USA (2025–2026); Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (CGAC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2025); Casa del Lago UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico (2025); Manifesta 15, Barcelona, Spain (2024); Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA), New York, USA (2024); Kunsthalle Wien Museumplatz, Vienna (2020); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2020); Centre Pompidou × Chengdu, Chengdu, China (2018); and the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, California, USA (2017). He has also participated in biennials such as the 35th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil; Bienal SIART, La Paz, Bolivia; the Curitiba Biennial of Contemporary Art, Paraná, Brazil; the Bienal de Artes Visuales del Istmo Centroamericano (BAVIC), held across Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador; and the Bienal de Arte Paiz (Fundación Paiz), Guatemala City. His work is included in institutional collections such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Fundación Ortiz Guardián, León, Nicaragua; Pérez Art Museum Miami, USA; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, among others.
This upcoming April, a solo exhibition by Chavajay opens at ICA Miami, USA. From August to October, he will participate in the international open-air group exhibition Into Nature: Haunted by Waters, in Drenthe, the Netherlands, at the invitation of curator Eva Posas.