Aracari’s Weekly Insight
by Simon
The Question:
Which arts and crafts shop in Barranco is celebrating its 25th anniversary this weekend?
The Answer:
Las Pallas in Barranco celebrates its 25th Anniversary this weekend with the opening of an exhibition compiled of pieces that have been specially chosen for the occasion.
Entitled “Tradition and Change”, the exhibition will feature an assortment of works ranging from weavings, ceramics and paintings to masks, baskets, charms and amulets.
The exhibition will demonstrate not only the rich artistic tradition of Peru, but the incorporation of modern ideas and imagery into arts and crafts. “It’s not a normal distribution” Las Pallas founder Mari Solari told me as I visited for a sneak peak of the exhibition before tomorrow’s opening. “but a special collection of pieces that merge the vintage with the modern”.
This was quite evident with some of the pieces on display, with traditional media such as ceramics and textiles being used to display such images as aeroplanes and lorries (trucks).
25 years of Las Pallas
Mari Solari first came to Peru in 1966, and right from the off she was thrust into the country’s rich art world, with which her family was deeply involved. Before opening Las Pallas she worked at her mother-in-law’s art gallery in San Juan de Lurigancho for ten years, learning all about the country’s rich artistic tradition and meeting artisans from across Peru.
In October 1986 she moved to Barranco and opened Las Pallas with the aim of promoting arts and crafts in Peru of the finest quality. “I fought for quality” she told me, “promoting those who were making things for use … and paying a fair price for such goods.”
“Barranco was much rougher at that time” Mari told me, “there were no trees on the street, and it definitely wasn’t a fashionable place to live… it was like a little village.”
Much has changed now though with Barranco seeing huge development over the last decades. Las Pallas is situated on a leafy street near to Saenz Peña boulevard, in a few blocks that constitute the heart of Lima’s creative scene.
And Las Pallas has come to be one of the key centres for arts and crafts in the area, a gorgeous shop-come-gallery promoting only hand made goods that have been sourced directly from the artists.
The inauguration of the exhibition will be held at 11am on Saturday 29th of October, and all are welcome to visit. The exhibition closes on the 26th of November; opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm. All of the works on display are for sale.
Mari is always most eager to host Aracari guests and give them an exclusive look around her private collection, and she is happy to shed light over any aspects of Andean history and culture that our guests on a Peru luxury tour might be interested in.
