Claudio Jimenez

Figurative

Residence: Lima, Peru

Claudio Jimenez was born in the village of Alcamenca, meaning "community working in stony earth" in Quechua. He is the son of Florentino Jimenez Toma and comes from a famous family of third and fourth generation retablo makers, with origins in the Andean region of Ayacucho. At the age of 15 Claudio won two national competitions in folk art and has become an internationally renowned maker of retablos and figures. His work has been exhibited all over the world including the Smithsonian, the Santa Fe Folk Art Museum and the San Francisco Folk Art Museum. Many of his works feature secular scenes of the daily life in Peru and also political subject matter, which has made him a leader against a repressive political regime. This led Claudio to flee Ayacucho in the 1980s to escape the violent insurgency of the Shining Path and the police. He now resides in Lima where he continues the family tradition of making retablos while fighting to maintain his culture, language, and traditions.