Edwin Sulca Lagos was born on August 5^th, 1958 , in the neighborhood of Santa Ana in the city of Ayacucho , Perú.  He is a member of the third generation of his family of Peruvian textile artists, which through the years has come to master the “punto arwi” – a pre-Inca weaving technique.  He inherited the wisdom and teaching of his grandfather Ambrosio Sulca (awarded the national distinction of Great Master in 1994), and his father Victor Sulca, a well-known master and teacher of his great skill.  Edwin graduated from the Chemical Engineering Department in the National University of San Cristobal of Huamanga.  He has been exhibiting his work since 1979, and has traveled and taught his techniques and his poetry in several Peruvian cities, and abroad: in the United States , Switzerland , Spain , and Ecuador .  In 2000, the Canadian film company Avanti Pictures produced a documentary about his life and work titled “The Voices of Ayacucho, Peru .”

 

“Edwin Sulca Lagos, master of the textile arts, embodies his dreams and hopes and those of his beloved town of Ayacucho in tapestries which relay the fortitude, pain, and dreams of his city. His tapestries elevate words to figures and scenery using Andean symbolism and life stories, and they transform these poems into masterpieces which transcend the Andean soul to become a universal message…”

                        Fermin Rivera Pineda (Anthropologist)

                                                                Translated from Spanish

 

Currently, three galleries in the United States are representing his work:

·         Couturier Gallery ( Los Angeles , California )  www.couturiergallery.com

·         Plum Gallery ( Williamstown , Massachusetts ) www.plumgallery.com

Solo Exhibitions

·         “Reimagining Sacred Space.”  Artist in Residence for Thompson Memorial Chapel Centennial.  Williams College .  Williamstown , Massachusetts , USA .  April-May 2005.

·         “ Peru ’s Master Weaver: Edwin Sulca.”  Gallery Atitlán.  Minneapolis , Minnesota , USA .  April-June 2004.

·         “Woven Testimonies: The Andean Tapestries of Edwin Sulca.”  David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies – Harvard University .  Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA .  February-June 2002. 

·         “Weaving Life: Textiles and Culture in Peru ,” Equator Gallery.  Boston , Massachusetts , USA .  November 2001.

·         “Edwin Sulca: Quisiera Ser como el Viento (I Wish to be Like the Wind).”  Couturier Gallery.  Los Angeles, California, USA.  September 2001.

·         “The Peabody Essex Museum presents the Andean Tapestries of Edwin Sulca, Artist in Residence” Peabody Essex Museum.  Salem , Massachusetts , USA .  June 2000.

·         “Class of 1998 Senior Gift Unveiling – Tapestry by Edwin Sulca Honoring Bette Ogami-Sherwood, Anja Greer, and Fred Tremallo.”  Phillips Exeter Academy .  Exeter , New Hampshire , USA .  November 1998.

·         Exhibit in the Diamond Path Elementary School .  Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.  January 1997.

·         “Woven History: The Andean Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” The Lamont Gallery – Phillips Exeter Academy .  Exeter , New Hampshire , USA .  January 1997.

·         “Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” Exhibit Room of the Mercantile Bank.  Chiclayo , Perú.  May 1995.

·         “Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” National Museum Gallery.  Lima , Perú.  July 1994.

·         “Edwin Sulca’s Tapestries that Tell Stories,” Inauguration of the Gallery Las Voces del Tapiz. Santa Ana neighborhood, Ayacucho, Perú.  March 1994.

·         “Tapestries with Natural Dyes of Edwin Sulca,” Gallery of the Loja French Alliance .  Loja, Ecuador.  June 1993.

·         “Edwin Sulca’s Tapestries with Natural Dyes,” Gallery of the Inter-American Center of Artisan and Popular Arts.  CIDAP, Cuenca, Ecuador.  June 1993.

·         “The Voices of the Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” Gallery of the Andean Institute of Popular Arts in the Andres Bello Convention.  Quito , Ecuador .  September 1992.

·         “ ‘The Voices of the Tapestry’ of Edwin Sulca,” Gallery “Juan Pardo Heeren” of the Peruvian-North American Cultural Institute.  Lima , Perú.  December 1991.

·         “Peruanische Textilkunst Edwin Sulca.” “El Tumi” Gallery in three cities: Winterthur , Zurich and Berne , Switzerland .  September 1991.

·         “Peruanische Textilkunst—Workshop by Edwin Sulca.”  School: Heimatwerschule “Mülene”.  Richterwill, Zurich , Switzerland .  August 1991.

·         “Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” Gallery “Altarpieces of Ayacucho”.  Barranco, Lima, Perú.  August 1990.

·         “Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” Main Hall of the Spanish Embassy.  Lima , Perú.  October 1988.

·         “Tapestries Sulca Lagos,” Huamanqaqa Gallery.  Lima , Perú.  September 1987.

·         “Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” Gallery of the French Alliance .  Lima , Perú.  October 1986.

·         “Tapestries Sulca Lagos,” Gallery of the French Alliance .  Lima , Perú.  September 1981.

 

Group Exhibitions

·         “Art and Indigenous Peoples.”  Exhibit at UN Headquarters.  New York , New York , USA .  May 17 – July 29, 2005.

·         “Artists of the Andes .”  Sandusky Cultural Center.  Sandusky, Ohio, USA.  March 2002.

·         “Woven, Weaving Social Commentary in Afghan and Peruvian Rugs.”  Cerritos College Art Gallery .  Los Angeles , CA , USA .  January 2002.

·         “The Art of War and Peace.”  American Visionary Arts Museum .  Baltimore, MD, USA.  October 2001 – September 2002.

·         “Edwin Sulca Lagos y René Noriega Martínez.”  Inter-American Development Bank, Washington , DC , USA .  February 2000.

·         “Ayacucho: Tradition and Crisis in Peruvian Popular Art.”  Con/Vida: Popular Art of the Americas .  Detroit , Michigan , USA .  November 1998.

·         “Hands that Speak.”  Gallery of the Organization of American States (OAS).  Washington DC, USA.  December 1997.

·         “Christmas and Art from Ayacucho.”  ‘Altarpieces from Ayacucho’ Gallery.  Barranco, Lima, Perú.  November 1997.

·         “Masters which Express Hope.”  Holy Week Festival.  Ayacucho, Perú.  April 1997.

·         “Paintings, Tapestries, Ceramics.”  Exhibit in Downtown Córdova.  Córdova , Spain .  December 1996.

·         “Expo ’96 Wari” Homage to the city of Chincha .  Chincha, Perú.  October 1996.

·         “Exhibit of Popular Art – Tapestries and Rock of Huamanga,” Homage on the anniversary of the UNSCH.  Ayacucho, Perú.  July 1996.

·         “The Voices of the Tapestry and the Language of the Sculpture,” CDLVI Huamanga Anniversary.  Exposition Hall of the Plaza Hotel.  Ayacucho, Perú.  April 1996.

·         “Tapestries, Altarpieces, and Rock of Huamanga,” Gallery of the Cultural Center Ricardo Palma of Miraflores Municipality .  Lima, Perú.  November 1995.

·         “Heroic Ayacucho in Miraflores,” Gallery of the Cultural Center Ricardo Palma of Miraflores Municipality .  Lima , Perú.  June 1995.

·         “Huamanga: a Long History…” National Museum Gallery.  Lima , Perú.  April 1994.

·         “Ayacucho en Tapestries y Altarpieces,” by Edwin Sulca and Edilberto Jiménez. Gallery of the Peruvian-North American Cultural Institute.  Miraflores, Lima , Perú.  December 1992.

·         “Ayacucho Past and Present,” Gallery of the Peruvian-North American Cultural Institute.  Lima , Perú.  March 1990.

·         “Homage to the University of San Cristobal of Huamanga,” Ayacucho, Perú.  July 1984.

·         “Tapestries of the Sons of Victor Sulca,” Peña Kusikusum Gallery.  Ayacucho, Perú.  April 1981.

·         “First Exhibit of Experimental Tapestries with Natural Dyes of the Sulca Family of Ayacucho,” Wari Gallery of Popular Art.  Lima, Perú.  November 1979.

 

Diplomas and Awards Received

·         Diploma awarded by Williams College , Williamstown , Massachusetts , USA 2005 .

·         Diploma awarded by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem , Massachusetts , USA 2000 .

·         “The Voices of Ayacucho , Peru .”  Documentary video made by Avanti Pictures. 

·         Diploma awarded by Diamond Path Elementary School, Minneapolis , Minnesota , USA 1997.

·         Diploma awarded by Phillips Exeter Academy during exhibit “Woven History: The Andean Tapestries of Edwin Sulca,” Exeter , New Hampshire , USA 1997.

·         Diploma awarded by the Chincha Municipality , exhibit “Expo ’96 Wari,” Chincha, Perú 1996.

·         Diploma y Remembrance Plate awarded by the Miraflores Municipality for exhibit “Heroic Ayacucho in Miraflores,” Miraflores, Lima , Perú 1995.

·         Diploma awarded by the National Museum for participation in the exhibit  “Huamanga: one Long History…” Lima , Perú 1994.

·         Diploma awarded by the Andean Institute of Popular Arts of the Andres Bello Convention, for course on Weavings on a Loom which took place in Quito , Ecuador 1992.

·         Honorable Mention awarded by the school Heimatwerkschule “Mülene” for a workshop.  Zürich , Switzerland 1991.

·         Diploma awarded by the municipality of Chur , Switzerland , for participation in the exhibit  “400 Years of Swiss Union,” Chur , Switzerland 1991.

·         Diploma awarded by ITINTEC, exhibit “Ayacucho Past y Present.”  Lima , Perú 1990.