Feliciano Centurión
Paraguayan Painter and Textile Artist
San Ignacio de las Misiones, Paraguay
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Summary of Feliciano Centurión
Paraguayan painter and textile artist Feliciano Centurión was celebrated for his vibrant, emotionally resonant works that challenged traditional gender roles and embraced queer identity. As a gay male raised in a matriarchal household, Centurión developed an early love for embroidery and crafts, despite cultural prohibitions against men engaging in such practices. After moving to Buenos Aires as a student, he found artistic and personal freedom during Argentina's post-dictatorship cultural renaissance. Centurión became known for transforming humble, domestic materials - such as blankets and doilies - into poignant artworks that explored themes of love, illness, nature, and mortality. Today, Centurión is recognized as a key figure in queer Latin American art, influencing contemporary artists exploring intimacy, identity, and craft.
Accomplishments
- As a queer man working in traditional crafts typically associated with female hands, Centurion was able to encourage the disbandment of traditional gender roles while equally elevating domestic handiwork to a fine art status.
- By using everyday objects like childhood toys, and textiles such as cheap common household blankets, Centurion was able to express his poignantly intimate, personal, and vulnerable emotions while wrapped in the comforts of the familiar as medium.
- Centurion's profound connection with nature, especially flowers and animals, provided consistent motifs for his work - representative of humanity's inherent beauty and innocence, even in a world of unwelcoming socio-political spheres and sexist cultural mores.
- Diagnosed with HIV in 1992, Centurion's later work -often small pieces of embroidered fabrics sewn onto squares of blankets, or reminiscent of pillows, with affirming or spiritual messages such as Vivir es Todo Sacroficio, (To Live is to Sacrifice) -became deeply autobiographical. Despite societal stigma surrounding AIDS and the reality of his impending death, his art radiated with warmth, humor, and resistance.
Progression of Art
Llumino con amor (I shine with love)
In Llumino con amor (I Shine with Love), we find a geometrical base of red, grey, and black holding a central motif - an ivory-colored, radiant circular figure reminiscent of the sun, made of delicate lacework and embroidered with the phrase "I shine with love" -a phrase that conveys warmth, affirmation, and resilience - qualities that Centurión emphasized as both emotional sustenance and aesthetic mission.
This piece represents Centurión's inaugural foray into using blankets as a medium. He utilized a cheap industrial blanket sourced from a local market, integrating it with the refined craft of needlework, a skill deeply rooted in his upbringing. This blend not only highlights the inherent beauty of commonplace objects but also celebrates the transformative potential of crafts traditionally linked to domestic labor. In his manifesto, he championed domestic objects as sources of comfort and support. Through this piece, Centurión transformed the mundane into a canvas of emotional expression, using the textile as both an artistic and a narrative tool.
The careful selection of materials, coupled with the meticulous craftsmanship, not only underscores the duality of vulnerability and strength in his themes but also mirrors his own life experiences, marked by personal struggle and cultural heritage.
Embroidery on blanket, with crochet and acrylic paint
Camino al Paraiso Florido (Road to a Flowery Paradise)
Camino al Paraiso Florido (Road to a Flowery Paradise) features a meticulously crafted central motif set against a matrix of squares. This pattern is emblematic of ñandutí, a traditional Paraguayan lace weaving technique. The term ñandutí, meaning "spider webs" in the Guaraní language, aptly reflects the intricate and delicate nature of the method, which is characterized by a central motif from which geometric patterns radiate. This is commonly used to embellish household goods and adorn clothing collars. The Spanish phrase embroidered in the center, translated as "Road to a Flowery Paradise," could be an allusion to Centurión's family migration to rural Argentina during the 1970s, his own move to Buenos Aires in early adulthood, or the artist's coming out as queer.
Centurión often employed flowers as symbols of love, life, growth, and impermanence. They reflect a serene beauty and care in the face of decline or mortality, often linked to his experience with HIV/AIDS. While the integration of text served as an expression of spiritual acceptance and serenity. These elements stood in stark contrast to the heteronormative sociopolitical milieu of his time. The poignant hand-stitched patterns and assertive phrases collectively serve as a declaration, reflecting the artist's personal emotions and his yearning for love and sanctuary as a queer migrant.
Embroidery on textile - Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA), New York
Estory despierto (I am awake)
Estoy despierta (I am awake), utilizes a vibrant red border to frame a central image of an eye on a textured, speckled beige background. The eye, depicted in a stylized manner with an emphatic red outline and a white lace pattern representing the iris, commands attention. Beneath, the phrase "I am awake" is embroidered, adding a narrative layer to the visual elements.
The use of a single eye as the focal point is a powerful choice, symbolizing vigilance and awareness. The incorporation of lace within the eye's design contrasts with the simplicity and rough texture of the background, highlighting themes of delicacy amidst resilience. The bold red frame enhances the visual impact of the piece, creating a sense of urgency and drawing the viewer's gaze inward. The work's formal qualities, such as the contrast between the vivid border and the muted background, as well as the intricate detail within the eye, reflect Centurión's skill in merging traditional textile techniques with contemporary themes.
Estoy despierta can be read spiritually, emotionally, or politically. The piece is a compelling exploration of presence and consciousness, signaling clarity and awakeness - perhaps in regard to mortality, queer identity, or enlightenment. The verbal phrase serves not only as an assertion of cognizance but also metaphorically suggests a state of being responsive to one's surroundings, perhaps an allusion to the artist's own experiences and observations in a socio-political context.
Acrylic paint and thread on natural and synthetic fibers - Estate of the Artist, Familia Feliciano Centurión
Cocodrilo (Crocodile)
This work vividly captures Centurión's deep affection for nature and wildlife, showcasing his unique ability to weave personal emotions into his celebration of indigenous craftsmanship. At the heart of the composition sits a little crocodile, framed by a golden border that evokes radiant sunlight. He gazes out toward an azure sea with curiosity and fearlessness. The inspiration for this piece stems from the Yacaré Caiman, native to the subtropical jungles near San Ignacio, Paraguay, where the artist spent his childhood.
Centurion often referenced childhood - through naïve drawing styles, animals, and soft materials - as a strategy of both emotional disarmament and deep vulnerability. The crocodile here is playful but it also carries symbolic weight and can be seen as protector, lurking danger, or a hybrid being of land and water possibly reflecting Centurion's own fluid identity as queer.
The inexpensive blanket that serves as canvas for this piece is a common, mass-produced item known as las frazadas. Both affordable and accessible, it highlights Centurión's interest in transforming everyday found objects into cherished artifacts.
Created during a period when the artist was living with HIV, Cocodrilo is imbued with layers of meaning that include imagination, humor, and tenderness. As Centurión himself described, his blanket works symbolize "warmth, shelter, and protection," offering "affective, sensorial support." Despite his disease, this work radiates an innocent vitality and a spirit of resilience.
Acrylic and plastic object on textile - Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA), New York
Dinosaurio (Dinosaur)
In this work, Centurión transforms a plastic dinosaur figurine by adorning it with a charmingly knitted sweater, lending the inanimate toy a sense of life, personality, and warmth. It is part of the Familia (Family) series, which features a collection of miniature animals, predominantly dinosaurs, each dressed in colorful, handcrafted garments. In the artist statement accompanying the series, Centurión reflects that creating these works transports him back to his childhood days of "knitting little wool dresses, little crochet outfits, revealing the humor and accentuating the kitsch quality of the object. Wrapped in tenderness, they awaken sympathy and conform to a kind of domestic Jurassic Park."
These portrayals of animals not only pointed back to his youth immersed in nature but also envisaged a utopian, childlike world. Be referencing childhood iconography, Centurion created emotional safety zones - spaces of imagination, wonder, and innocence. This may have been especially significant in his final years, as he faced the physical and emotional toll of living with AIDS. Also, dinosaurs are extinct creatures - symbols of the distant past. In the context of a terminal illness, this could speak to mortality, memory, and the passage of time, but in Centurión's hands, the theme remained tender, not tragic.
As a Paraguayan artist who moved to Argentina, Centurión used his crocheted toys to subtly confront and critique the rigid norms of a heterosexual society with both wit and humor. The kitschy aesthetic in Dinosaurio serves to challenge and subvert the dominant patriarchal structures reinforced by sexist biases. In doing so, the artist not only asserted his political position as openly queer but also contributed to the broader human dialogue transcending mere self-expression and individual subjectivity.
Plastic toy animal with crochet wrap - Private Collection, New York
Ave del paraiso florecido (Bird of flowering paradise)
Ave del Paraíso Florecido (Flourishing Bird of Paradise) features a richly embroidered depiction of a majestic bird perched elegantly on a branch. The artwork showcases the bird's elaborate plumage, rendered in a vivid array of colors that mimic the appearance of blossoming flowers. Enclosed by a striking green border that echoes the theme of nature, the composition is further enhanced by a delicately patterned trim. The bird is meticulously crafted, with diverse embroidery stitches used to highlight the textural details of its feathers and the realistic portrayal of the branches and foliage. This careful attention to detail not only accentuates the regal stance of the bird but also brings a dynamic quality to the artwork, making the bird seem almost alive.
This artwork symbolizes beauty and natural elegance, capturing the essence of the bird of paradise, which is often associated with paradise itself due to its extraordinary beauty. This piece reflects the artist's appreciation for nature and his skill in translating that appreciation into textile form. The use of vibrant colors and the dynamic posture of the bird against the serene background exemplify his ability to fuse art with nature, creating a piece that is both visually stunning and rich in symbolism. Through this work, Centurión not only celebrates the inherent beauty of the natural world but also invites viewers to reflect on the splendor and diversity of life itself.
This late piece becomes in itself, an almost bittersweet yet glorious self-portrait.
Embroidery on fabric - Private collection, London
Biography of Feliciano Centurión
Childhood
Feliciano Centurión was born in 1962 in San Ignacio, a town in South Paraguay renowned for its picturesque landscapes and a rich history intertwined with Jesuit missions and the Guarani Indians. Centurión's early years in this vibrant setting fostered his profound connection with nature, which later manifested in his artworks through motifs of local fauna such as caimans, flamingoes, fishes, turtles, and birds of paradise.
Centurión grew up in a female-concentrated household, nurtured by his mother, Yolanda Andrea Acosta, and his grandmother, Rogelia Acosta Mena, along with his sisters and aunts, who were all masterful at crafts work. His sister fondly remembers their grandmother crocheting adeptly without needing to look at her work. Their crafting practices, including sewing, embroidery, crocheting, and weaving, captivated Centurión from a young age. His future artworks would consistently foreground themes of care, memory, and intimacy rooted in this maternal realm. The relative absence or silence around male figures in his early life may suggest they were either physically absent, less emotionally available, or simply not emphasized in his personal narrative.
Despite the broad societal appreciation for these folk textile traditions in Paraguayan villages, they were traditionally associated with female domesticity. The stringent gender norms at the time sharply restricted male participation in such crafts. Raised in an ultra-conservative Catholic environment, Centurión was discouraged from engaging in activities like embroidery and sewing, which were deemed highly inappropriate for boys. This social restriction significantly influenced his artistic trajectory, stimulating the artist to challenge and redefine traditional gender roles through his creations.
Early Training and Work
Feliciano Centurión's artistic journey unfolded against a backdrop of profound historical and social upheaval. While his early life in Paraguay was relatively tranquil, the country was grappling with the lingering effects of three devastating conflicts: the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), the Chaco War (1932-1935), and the Paraguayan Civil War (1947). This period of turmoil culminated in the authoritarian regime of Alfredo Stroessner, which began in 1954. Known for its violent and oppressive tactics, Stroessner's government silenced and immobilized the Paraguayan populace, consolidating its power through constitutional changes and military alliances.
Living amidst the horrors of Operation Condor - a US-backed terror campaign in South America - and under Stroessner's stifling dictatorship, Centurión, a young, gay, and creatively inclined man, found his expressive possibilities drastically curtailed.
Mature Period
In 1980, seeking both personal and artistic liberation, he relocated to Buenos Aires to attend the National Academy of Fine Arts Prilidiano Pueyrredón and the Ernesto de la Cárcova Superior School of Fine Arts. Here, he earned degrees as a National Professor and Superior Professor of Painting, specializing in drawing. His future work would often showcase an abstract representation of the human body, a skill that harkened back to this rigorous training.
His time in Argentina coincided with the nation's emergence from its own civic-military dictatorship, ushering in a period of revitalized personal and political freedoms. By the mid-1980s, Argentina was experiencing a flourishing counterculture and a reestablished democracy, which afforded Centurión the freedom to openly explore and express his sexuality.
Centurión lived and worked in the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, a vibrant area known for its immigrant and artist communities - both of which provided a rich source of inspiration and support for his work. One of his first notable pieces from the 1990s, titled "Familia de dinosaurios" (Family of Dinosaurs), was displayed on three pedestals at the center of a gallery, surrounded by aquatic-themed blankets. This installation also featured an array of plastic toy dinosaurs and animals such as a horse, a zebra, and a deer, all adorned in delicately crocheted garments. These pieces, complete with buttons, pom-poms, and satin bows, infused the work with a sense of charm and comfort, reflecting a deep sense of mutual affection and shared humor within his cultural and artistic communities.
In Buenos Aires, Centurión immersed himself in the vibrant bohemian art scene centered around the Centro Cultural Rector Ricardo Rojas. This gallery became a nexus for a new generation of artists influenced by Postmodernism, who adopted an ironic stance towards conventional notions of good taste and "high art." Their work, characterized by a deliberate embrace of kitsch and queer aesthetics, was a bold departure from traditional forms. It was within this context that Centurión began to engage with inexpensive patterned blankets (frazadas) sourced from local markets, a medium that allowed him to revisit and express the domestic craft traditions that were deemed inappropriate for men in his native country Paraguay.
Centurión's work from this period featured stylized, naively rendered animals and flowers in acrylic on these mass-produced blankets, challenging the entrenched elitist attitudes of Buenos Aires' art scene. Despite facing initial critical skepticism, as evidenced by a review dismissively labeling their exhibition "Arte Light," Centurión, along with contemporaries like Liliana Maresca, Marcelo Pombo, and Omar Schiliro, continued to subvert common artistic norms. They redefined the value and perception of handicrafts and ornamentation within the art world, ensuring that their innovative approaches resonated beyond conventional boundaries.
Late Period
Diagnosed with HIV in 1992, Centurión faced the substantial obstacles of both illness and societal stigma attached to it. Living amidst a machista (sexist) society, hostile to queerness, and during a time when HIV was met with widespread intolerance, his very existence became a bold act of resistance. Despite these formidable tests within his own survival, Centurión's art exuded a serene joy and optimism, infused with deep emotional resonance and insights into life. Through embroidered texts, the artist transformed his personal experiences into profound aphorisms, using his creations to document the physical impact of illness and the encounter with prevalent media's narrative of the "gay plague."
Centurión's later works were devoted to textile embroidery, using blankets as a deep autobiographical medium that merged traditional expressions with intensely personal narratives. By transforming these familiar, everyday items into canvases for his work, the artist forged intimate connections with his audience, offering a window into his life as he battled a deadly disease. His materials of choice - handkerchiefs, doilies, and tablecloths, typically found in secondhand markets - were intricately embroidered with a range of sentiments. These included health updates such as "mis glóbulos rojos aumentan" (My red blood cell count increases), sentimental avowal like "TU PRESENCIA SE CONFIRMA EN NOSOTROS" (Your presence is confirmed in us) on Paraguayan lace, and life-affirming statements within floral designs "ESTOY VIVO" (I am alive).
In the final phase of his career, Centurión created smaller, intimate works adorned with natural imagery and diary-like phrases that spanned from personal reflections to spiritual and poetic contemplations. Particularly poignant were a series of embroidered pillows made in a hospital setting as he neared the end of his life. One of these pieces, featuring the single word "REPOSA" (Rest) on a lace-trimmed cushion, encapsulated his dignified reflection on mortality. Centurión passed away in 1996 at the age of thirty-four due to complications from AIDS. Through his work, he had utilized the often-underestimated language of domestic craftsmanship to deeply explore life's experiences and confront the reality of death with grace and strength.
The Legacy of Feliciano Centurión
Feliciano Centurión's artistic legacy is marked by his ingenuity to transform soft textiles from everyday life into exquisitely embroidered reflections of his life, sentiments, and struggles. Rich in both poignant texts reflecting myriad emotions and playful depictions of the natural environment and wildlife, Centurión's art celebrated not only his sexual identity but also his cultural roots. By embracing the traditional craftsmanship of Paraguay, Centurión transformed the ordinary to the extraordinary within the discourse of modern art, prompting artists and critics to reconsider the potential of ordinary domestic objects as powerful instruments for artistic and social commentary.
As an openly gay man in a conservative society, Centurión's works exuded a kitschy and distinctively queer aesthetic, which boldly confronted the sociopolitical conventions of his era. Amidst the oppressive atmosphere of political dictatorship and his own battle with AIDS, Centurión's audacious use of decorative and feminine elements provoked the established norms of both art and society.
Centurión's vision, fused with courage, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to articulating the complexities of the human experience has had a growing influence on a number of contemporary Latin American and global artists - especially those exploring themes of queer identity, domestic labor, craft, and the body. These include Zachary Drucker, Carlos Motta, Fabiola Menchelli, Santiago Taccetti, and Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro.