ABOUT
BIOGRAPHY
‘My work reflects my experiences in life. Exile, Immigration, Motherhood, Womanhood, they are all reoccurring themes that I endeavor to work through and transform in my craft.’
Josefina Kukanja was born in Cordoba, the capital of the Province of the same name in Argentina. Cordoba is situated on the foothills of The Sierras de Córdoba mountains. This awe inspiring landscape surrounding the city and the history and culture of the region later became of fundamental importance to her future artistic development. While she was growing up in Cordoba it was a hub of immigration from war-torn Europe. A melting pot of political, cultural and aesthetic influences from all over Europe and the world at large.
Kukanja studied Architecture at the University of Cordoba. This is where she first developed a lifelong interest in the vernacular Architecture of Latin America and the Cordoba Region specifically. This extended into an interest in the often neglected regional arts & crafts traditions. This became evident in her later work as a sculptor. While working as an Architect in the province of La Rioja, her interests deepened in the work of local sculptors and she decided to dedicate an increasing amount of her time on sculpture.
As a sculptor she chooses her tools and techniques carefully to show her specific version of reality.
Rooted in Latin American culture and continuing in the European sculptural tradition, Josefina Kukanja has found a completely idiosyncratic imagery. The influence of her Argentine origins become evident in the way Kukanja trieS to convey her vision of her lived experience and the world around us.
Her earlier work in series like INTIHUATANA reflects her interest in the indigenous culture of her birthplace. In a time when this culture was neglected and underappreciated her interest in it signified a political stance towards the predicaments her native country was facing at that time.
The use of a humble medium like clay and the use of indigenous pottery techniques was a deliberate attempt to support a long overdue appreciation of Argentina’s vernacular art.
Subsequently the emphasis in her work shifted towards other themes, preoccupations and investigations. Womanhood and Motherhood became recurring themes in her work. The series MOTHER and CONVEX & CONCAVE exemplifies this period. When she and her children followed her husband into exile in the Netherlands her work started reflecting her changed circumstances. European influences became more apparent and her use of materials shifted its emphasis.
Although she never abandoned clay as a medium, she started using the material in a more unpolished way in series like ROUGH MUD. Miles away from the delicate and intricate INTIHUATANA series with which she started her career.
Partly due to necessity and a wish to start afresh in a new medium. Kukanja experimented with new techniques to shape and colour her sculptures. This was most noticeable in her experiments with Styrofoam (HEADS) and blocks of oak (BLOCK STUDIES)
Today, in her eighties Josefina Kukanja is still active, still working, still evolving and honing her craft.