"Textile art in all its various ramifications, has slowly but surely taken its rightful place in the private and public world’s collections’. It does not come as a surprise that more and more of the stars of this genre are coming out of Africa and Latin America. These two continents have maintained close ties to their rich cultural heritage, culling inspiration from the continued creation of native artifacts; Mexico is a front runner in this genre with artists and artisans who continue to create masterpieceswhile delving deep into their countries cultural past. By embracing the Mesoamerican dress called the Huipil as the vessel for her body of work, the North American artist Lena Bartula creates a bold body of contemporary art and process thinking.
The artist lives and works in San Miguel de Allende and has lived in Mexico for many years. She is adedicated student of the Mexican and Guatemalan Huipil, a sometimes embroidered and woven garment. Bartula deconstructs, using the different native garments to create magic, contemporarypieces, sometimes in Huipil shapes, sometimes in abstract collages, masks and other objects. She has an uncanny gift with color and textures and has at times, created ceremonial Huipils made of straw, or feathers or flowers."
