13/06/2025 - 14/09/2025

We are roots. Santiago Yahuarcani and Nereyda López

"We are roots" proposes an encounter with the universe of Santiago Yahuarcani, a self-taught painter and sculptor belonging to the White Heron clan of the Uitoto nation, and his partner Nereyda López, a self-taught sculptor of Tikuna and Cocama descent. Both live in the district of Pebas, on the banks of the Ampiyacú River, in Loreto, Peru.

The exhibition, curated by Isabella Lenzi and Rember Yahuarcani, invites visitors on a journey through Indigenous cosmogonies based on orality, song, vision, practice, and community resistance. Their artistic approach champions harmony between humans, non-humans, and nature. Through their paintings and sculptures, they reinterpret the myths and spiritual world of their ancestors, bringing them into the present, while recounting centuries of extractivism and violence, with a particular emphasis on the rubber boom, which profoundly affected Amazonian communities and also shaped their own lives. Their creations challenge colonial narratives, seeking to create a space for the recognition and visibility of these voices.

Santiago Yahuarcani and Nereyda López are two of the most important figures in contemporary art, whose work engages with urgent debates on memory, ecology, and decoloniality. Santiago participated in the most recent Venice Biennale (2024) and, together with Nereyda, was part of the Toronto Biennial (2024) and the Mercosur Biennial (2025). This is the first exhibition dedicated exclusively to both artists outside of Peru. It brings together a significant collection of pieces—from early works from the early 2000s, never before seen outside their native country, to recent creations produced specifically for this exhibition.

Santiago primarily paints with natural dyes on llanchama, a plant-based fabric obtained from the bark of the renaco tree, which grows in his territory. Nereyda, on the other hand, constructs her sculptures and masks with seeds, roots, fibers, and bark, gathered patiently and respectfully from her surroundings.

From their home studio, they have woven a way of life in which art intertwines with farming, daily care, dreams, and the transmission of ancestral knowledge. In their family, creation doesn't follow an individual logic, but a collective one, and until very recently, it didn't imply the need to claim authorship. It arises from shared work, respect for inherited knowledge, and the commitment to pass it on to those who come after. Each work is born from the exchange between generations, from the youngest to the oldest, in a process where art is living memory, a community bond, and a daily act of resistance.
"We are roots" invites us to reflect on other ways of living in society, on the disobedience and irreverence of artistic creation in the face of violence, and vindicates myth and memory as living forces that help us face current challenges, while also recounting a history of standing up against the dispossession and silencing of indigenous peoples in the Amazon.
In a historic moment of ecological, social and political crisis, the exhibition affirms a vision of art as a tool of resistance, connection and reimagining of the world.

 

Image credit: Santiago Yahuarcani "Tigre rig+" (2023) Natural dyes on llanchama Courtesy of the artist
Exhibition Guide

public activities

Walking the myth

Guided tour with the artists and curators of the exhibition

Friday, June 13 – 18:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 14 – 18:30 p.m.

A special tour of the exhibition "We Are Roots," guided by artists Santiago Yahuarcani and Nereyda López, along with the curatorial team. An opportunity to learn firsthand about the stories, materials, and processes that shape the works.

General public | Recommended age: 12 years and up
Capacity: 25 people | Duration: 1 hour – 1 hour 30 minutes
Picasso Room

Participation in public activities is free without prior registration. However, for to access to the exhibitionTickets will need to be purchased (check prices and buy online or at the box office on the same day).

The parents of colors

Uitoto stories and family creation

Saturday, June 14 – 12:00 p.m.

In this intimate and playful encounter, the artists will share some of the myths of the Uitoto-Aimeri nation, which are present in many of the works in the exhibition. While listening to the stories, children will be able to draw and paint, inspired by the tales and the artworks.

Family activity | Recommended age: 4 to 12 years
Capacity: 20 people | Duration: 1 hour – 1 hour 30 minutes
Picasso Room

Participation in public activities is free without prior registration. However, for to access to the exhibitionTickets will need to be purchased (check prices and buy online or at the box office on the same day).

Spoken land

Visit with Commissioner Isabella Lenzi

Tuesday, July 15 – 18:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 22 – 18:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 13 – 19:30 p.m.

A special tour of the exhibition "We Are Roots ," led by one of its curators. A space to discover the stories, materials, and creative gestures that bring the works to life, and to delve into the connections between territory, memory, and creation.

General public | Recommended age: 12 years and up
Duration: 1h – 1h30
Picasso Room

Participation in public activities is free without prior registration. However, for to access to the exhibitionTickets will need to be purchased (check prices and buy online or at the box office on the same day).

The song of the butterflies

Screening and discussion with the director

Saturday, September 13 – 17:00 p.m.
Recommended age: from 12 years

Places available: 213 people

Duration: 1 h 30 – 2 h

Cine Estudio

The Song of the Butterflies (2020) accompanies Rember Yahuarcani's return to his grandmother's land, a journey that leads him to understand why the stories of his ancestors cannot be forgotten. The film is a sensitive portrait of the daily life of the White Heron Clan and their struggle to keep their culture alive. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director, Nuria Frigola Torrent, and one of the exhibition's curators, Isabella Lenzi.

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Floating vibrations

Sensory workshop with the artist Laura Mema

Sunday, September 14 – 11:30 a.m.
Recommended age: from 12 years

Places available: 20 people

Duration: 1 h 30 – 2 h

Picasso Room

Through theory, Kundalini yoga, sound activations, and artistic exploration with ink on water, this workshop offers a sensory and creative experience that intertwines Indigenous knowledge, vibrational practices, and meditative art. Inspired by the Uitoto cosmogony, the workshop invites participants to connect with water as a carrier of information, with DNA as a channel of wisdom, and with sleep as a portal to the spiritual realm, culminating in a gong bath that harmonizes body, mind, and spirit.

Tuition
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Opening:
June 12 at 19pm (free admission)

This event has ended
Date:
13.06.2025 - 14.09.2025
Conference room:
Picasso Room
Curatorship:

Isabella Lenzi and Rember Yahuarcani

Organized by:
Círculo de Bellas Artes
Collaboration:
Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge
Crisis Gallery
Embassy of Peru in Spain
Pizarro Charitable Foundation

Ticket prices

€7 Entrance to exhibition and rooftop
€6 Exhibition entrance fee
€5 Reduced admission
€0 CBA Members

Schedule

Tuesday to Sunday
11: 00 — 14: 00
17: 00 — 21: 00

Closed Mondays

Box office

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