JOSÉ DE LA MANO RECLAIMS THE SCULPTURAL WORK OF CHACÓN ÁVILA
The Madrid gallery delves into the evolution through which Ester Chacón Ávila moved from design to sculpture, reclaiming both the artist’s figure and textile practice as a fully contemporary language.
The Madrid-based José de la Mano gallery continues its work of reclaiming the figure of Ester Chacón Ávila (Santiago, Chile, 1936) with a solo exhibition that reviews her trajectory and evolution from textile design toward sculptural practice. To this end, the exhibition articulates its curatorial proposal through a group of eight large-scale works produced between 1974 and 1988.
Textile Creatures [1974–1988] places the viewer before works conceived as organic structures that can be observed from multiple angles. Embracing the surrounding space, the pieces approach corporeality, ultimately materializing a rupture with bidimensionality and transforming into sculptures made of cords and knotted textiles. In this way, the material and the knot reveal themselves as instruments of memory, identity, and resistance—recurring themes throughout the artist’s practice.
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Ester Chacón Ávila. Criaturas textiles [1974-1988]. Foto: Galería José de la Mano
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Ester Chacón Ávila. Criaturas textiles [1974-1988]. Foto: Galería José de la Mano
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Ester Chacón Ávila. Criaturas textiles [1974-1988]. Foto: Galería José de la Mano
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Ester Chacón Ávila. Criaturas textiles [1974-1988]. Foto: Galería José de la Mano
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Ester Chacón Ávila. Criaturas textiles [1974-1988]. Foto: Galería José de la Mano
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Ester Chacón Ávila. Criaturas textiles [1974-1988]. Foto: Galería José de la Mano
Through the observation of works such as Epitaph (1974) or the installation Woman I, II and III (c. 1983), the historical connection with the events shaping the ideological dimension of her production becomes evident. The period addressed cautiously reflects the consequences of the 1973 coup d’état, among other events, allowing an understanding of the intrinsic dialogue between the works and personal experience. Within its chronology, the exhibition also considers not only the recovery of Chacón Ávila’s name but also that of a practice that positions textile as a contemporary artistic technique.
Ester Chacón Ávila. Textile Creatures [1974–1988] can be visited until June 12, 2026, at Galería José de la Mano, Zorrilla 21, Madrid (Spain).

