MALI comes out to animate the collectors’ market: everything you need to know to participate in its XXVII Art and Design Auction

A Maradona shirt will not be auctioned for 9 million dollars, as happened at the British house Sotheby’s earlier this month. However, in the 27th edition of the Art and Design Auction of the MALI You can also find surprises, some of them exhibited in the so-called “Collector’s Space” dedicated to the museum in the CASACOR 2022 exhibition that has been taking place at its headquarters in Santiago de Surco.

See, for example, the animals decorated with kené designs by potter Lili Sandoval, in dialogue with the Diablicos de Túcume dance masks prepared by northern tinsmith Martín Granados, the Sarhua tables by master Pompeyo Berrocal and the spoons designed by Valentina Mayolo . Likewise, an installation by the Colombian artist Susana Mejía that displays her research on the ancient processes developed by the Huitotos to extract color from Amazonian plants, together with pispita baskets by Felicia Usca, from Cusco, while the cooked clay dogs stare at us. of the Ayacucho master Mamerto Sánchez.

Even the very chairs on which we are sitting for this interview with Gonzalo Li, President of the Lima Art Museum Auction Committee, are part of the auction: they are prototypes designed for the occasion by Colombian architect Pascual Celis, an example of the work in bronze, textiles and cabinetmaking. This combination of styles and provenance is not gratuitous: it is part of the reflection on the coexistence between the contemporary, the historical and the regional tradition. “Part of my role as president of the auction is to bring artists closer to a broader and younger audience, promoting collecting and bringing art closer to everyday life. Within this slogan, it occurred to me to bring MALI closer to Casacor, which being a design and decoration event, was the perfect excuse for our design and art auction”, he points out.

The auction, to be held on June 4 in tower 8 of the Business Center in San Isidro, is a fundraising event for the museum, which seeks to raise resources for its annual operations. “Its importance lies not only financially, but also as part of the dissemination of the MALI message: bringing regional traditions closer to contemporary life, the importance of pointing out certain areas that may be of interest for collecting, as well as giving space artists to spread their work”, he points out.

The MALI auction is an example of continuity: few cultural events can show 25 years of uninterrupted activity, always seeking to adapt to what happens in its context. For Li, this is the third auction he has organized. The previous ones, carried out in 2020 and 2021 in the midst of the pandemic, were carried out virtually. This edition, for the first time, will have a hybrid format, adding face-to-face and virtual at the same time.

In this new edition, 59 lots are presented, divided into six sections: Regional Perspectives, Textile Art, Design and Daily Life, Homage to the Peruvian Poncho, Pioneers of Design, and Contemporary Art. Likewise, plastic artists, designers and architects have been invited to work hand in hand with artisan artists to create a series of original and exclusive pieces for this auction. “We have pieces worked in collaboration between artists who did not know each other and who developed a bond here. An example of this is the table sculpted by Paolo Scarpati, who sculpts recovered molle trunks, and who works with Frank Soria, a contemporary Amazonian artist, who intervenes in this piece by reinterpreting Kené art”, explains Li.

The auction hammer is still in charge of Armando Andrade, vice president of the auction and with enormous experience in these matters. “He really is the best auctioneer in Peru, something that requires a lot of skills. You have to be very empathetic, have a lot of knowledge and experience”, warns Li, who points out that the organization of the auction has been careful to have more than 70% of its pieces offered with base prices below 3 thousand dollars. “You have to look at this auction as a charity auction. Starting from these low prices we can generate more enthusiasm for bidding. With this we leave a wide margin for the public to get excited and take their favorite pieces, ”he adds.

THE DATA

Those interested in acquiring a palette to participate in person at the XXVII Art and Design Auction MALI 2022 must make a donation of US$ 50 and previously register on the website www.subasta.mali.pe. You can also attend virtually with a donation of US$30.