Kukuli Velarde

Velarde's most recent work, The Complicit Eye, displayed at the arts organization Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia, PA (November 2018 to February 2019), is the artist's first solo painting show in the U.S. The Complicit Eye considers the female body and beauty standards in terms of patriarchal society through self portraits from the last 14 years. Taller Puertorriqueño explains how the exhibition comments on society's definition of femininity and its relation to Latina bodies, specifically in Western culture where Latin American women are expected to look a certain way. Paintings included show female bodies with different ideas of femininity, such as "pin up" style and "goddess" like features that show sculpted legs and exaggerated breast size, with the face of the artist attached. Some of the works included are life sized portraits while others have a comic book feel, displaying the different art styles Velarde worked with. The paintings also incorporate Velarde's identity as a Peruvian, mother, and artist. Examples of the pieces included in the exhibition are Pinup Wannabe (2005) and Superperuvian (2005).

Velarde is one of the 2015 recipients of the Guggenheim Fellowship, given out by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for her excellence in the fine arts. She was also the Evelyn Shapiro Foundation Fellowship recipient (1997-1998). This fellowship allowed Velarde studio space in The Clay Studio in Philadelphia and a solo exhibition. Here she displayed her exhibition Isichapuitu, which consisted of Pre-Columbian inspired ceramic pieces that told an old Peruvian folk tale about the resurrection of a female spirit.

Plunder Me Baby (2007), a series of ceramic sculptures, is one of Velarde's works that has been shown in different exhibitions throughout the United States and Peru. The American Museum of Ceramic Art, explains Velarde's inspiration for this show as a childhood memory where her nanny denied her indigenous roots by claiming she couldn't speak the Inca language Quechua, which later prompted her to create sculptures as a way to address the discrimination indigenous people face. Art editor Janet Koplos, describes the series as consisting of brown, red, and white clay or terra-cotta, painted over with geometric shapes while portraying contorted bodies with detailed human like faces molded from the artist's own face. Visual arts editor Leah Ollman, adds that the whimsical facial expressions of the sculptures also portray a comedic feel, meant to depict Velarde's satire take on Latin American colonization. This series is also a commentary on women's bodies and female sexuality by displaying female body parts.

From 1990-1992, Velarde worked on and exhibited her series We, The Colonized Ones in New York. For the collection Velarde used red and white clay ceramics, which scholar Fernando Torres Quirós stated was meant to convey the emotions of the indigenous under the domination of Europeans. He further stated that Velarde paid special attention in portraying the pain of her ancestors by focusing on facial features. Per Ivor Miller, traditional methods of ceramics, such as unglazed sculptures, are incorporated into this series, purposely showing a disconnection to Western methods. The series also includes short performances and installations, the former of which includes Velarde utilizing her ceramics and herself to show a story of colonization in Peruvian history.

During 1984, Velarde lived in Mexico and attended the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City, allowing her to reconnect with art. In 1988, she headed to the United States, where she continued her artwork by creating ceramic sculptures and received her Bachelor in Fine Arts from Hunter College in New York.

Kukuli Velarde (born November 29, 1962) is a Peruvian artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She specializes in painting and ceramic sculptures made out of clay and terra-cotta. Velarde focuses on the themes of gender and the repercussions of colonization on Latin American history, with a particular interest in Peru. Her ceramics consist of unusual body positions, childlike faces, and works that have been molded from her own face as well.