Asilia Guillén (1887–1964) was a

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

ist, specializing in

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

and painting. Guillén was born in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Nicaragua, into a patrician family. She received an education typical for a young woman of her station, learning embroidery and music among other subjects. She worked in embroidery for much of her artistic life, in line with the tradition of the ''bordados granadinos'' produced by the city of her birth. She took up painting at the age of sixty-five; once discovered by poet Enrique Fernández Morales, she took classes with Rodrigo Peñalba, at the time director of the School of Fine Arts in

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

.''Art of the Americas: Collection of the Art Museum of the Americas of the Organization of American States''
Organization of American States , Secretariat for Hemispheric Affairs. Washington, D.C., 2017. Early in her career she showed work at the

São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...

. In 1957 she was one of the six artists included in the group exhibition ''6 Artists of Nicaragua'' organized by the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

; soon thereafter she was taken up by

José Gómez-Sicre José Gómez-Sicre (July 6, 1916 in Matanzas, Cuba – July 22, 1991 in Washington, D.C.) was a noted Cuban lawyer, art critic and writer. Education Gómez-Sicre graduated from the University of Havana in 1941 with degrees in Consular Law and Po ...

, who ensured that her work gained exposure in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and further afield. Her paintings were shown at the Mexican Inter-American Bienal and in exhibits in

Knokke Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009). ...

and

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, and in 1962 she exhibited eighteen works in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in her first solo show; she visited under the auspices of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, and gained further international recognition as a result. Gómez Sicre commissioned another work from her in 1964, titled ''The Founders of the Americas Meet on the Islands of Lake Granada'' and designed for inclusion in the Central American and Panama Pavilion at the

1964 World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

. For a time Guillén lived at the Solentiname art colony, becoming acquainted with its founder,

Ernesto Cardenal Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (20 January 1925 – 1 March 2020) was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician. He was a liberation theologian and the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived for m ...

. Stylistically, the embroideries Guillén produced at the beginning of her career grew more elaborate as she developed, moving from traditional floral motifs to more complicated landscapes and historical scenes. Her paintings, which depict similar scenes, are known for their intricate detail. She drew much of her inspiration from the history and vistas of her native city. Two of her paintings, both oils on canvas, are owned by the

Art Museum of the Americas Art Museum of the Americas (AMA), located in Washington, D.C., is the first art museum in the United States primarily devoted to exhibiting works of modern art, modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean. The museum was forma ...

; they are ''

Rafaela Herrera Rafaela de Herrera y Torreynosa (1742–1805) was a Spanish criolla. She is considered a national heroine of Nicaragua, due to her actions in the defense of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception during the Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicar ...

Defends the Castle from Pirates'' of 1962 and ''Heroes and Artists Come to the Pan American Union To Be Consecrated'' of the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guillen, Asilia 1887 births 1964 deaths Nicaraguan painters Nicaraguan women painters Embroiderers 20th-century women textile artists 20th-century textile artists Folk artists People from Granada, Nicaragua