Exhibitions

Sara Flores. Akinananti

New York, United States

A mesmerizing cartography of the Amazon, where ancestral Shipibo-Konibo Kené patterns expand into vast, rhythmic meditations on collective healing.

Sara Flores. Akinananti

Image credit

© Sara Flores Untitled (Maya Kené 15, 2023) 2023

Meet the artist

Sara Flores

The Movement

Contemporary Art

ArtLovers Tip

Look closely at the edges of the patterns. You will notice that Flores works without a pre-drawn grid, relying on mental visualization to maintain the perfect symmetry of the lines across several meters of canvas.

Exhibition Highlights - What you'll see

Sara Flores (b. 1950, Tambomayo, Peru) translates the ancient cosmology of the Shipibo-Konibo people into expansive, intricate geometries. Born in the Peruvian Amazon, Flores practices Kené, a tradition of visionary design passed down through generations of women, now scaled to the dimensions of contemporary painting. Her works are not merely decorative but spiritual manifestos, created using forest dyes and wild cotton in a spirit of Akinananti—the joy of communal labor.

You're watching a labyrinth of fine, reddish lines pulse across a towering stretch of hand-woven fabric. The scent of bark and fermented berries lingers in the air, grounding the abstract symmetry in the physical reality of the rainforest. Each curve feels both mathematically precise and deeply alive, a visual song that seems to vibrate beyond the edges of the frame.

Worth the trip

  • Ancient alchemy: Every pigment is harvested from the Amazonian floor, using crushed leaves and mineral-rich mud to create a palette that feels ancient and permanent.
  • Monumental shift: While Kené was traditionally used for clothing, Flores elevates these patterns to a grand architectural scale that envelops the viewer in its rhythm.
  • Matriarchal legacy: These works are the result of collaborative labor between Flores and her daughters, preserving a complex visual language that was once at risk of vanishing.

How to experience it

Move slowly toward the canvas until the individual brushstrokes of the forest dyes become visible, then step back to let the grid dissolve into a shimmering, optical field. This is art that demands a quiet mind. After leaving the Madison Avenue gallery, walk toward Central Park to find a bench near the water; the stillness will help you hold onto the rhythmic vibration of the patterns before the New York pace takes over.

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