LA SUMA DE PEQUEÑAS PARTES

Galería Rebelde presents the exhibition “La Suma de Pequeñas Partes”, a project room from the Guatemalan collective CINCOXCINCO that presents for the first time in Guatemala the award-winning collection. The project won the price INEDITO, during Design Week Mexico City 2022, one of the most important for design in Latin America.

The collective is the collaboration of five Guatemalan creatives. Started in 2019, it was during the Covid-19 Pandemic that everyone's talents gave fruit to this collection, which in turn has the direct and indirect participation of more than 30 Guatemalans, including members of Armet, Selva Savia, independent artisans, etc CINCOXCINCO is made up of Maria Cecilia Diaz, designer and entrepreneur. She is co-founder of FIBRA by Lamulticolor, a brand that seeks to give single-use plastic a new life through upcycling. Under the CECILIADENADIE studio, she leads various sustainable design projects and advises designers, brands, companies and institutions interested in including sustainable practices in their business development agenda. Esteban Paredes is an architect and founder of Estudio Cálido, an up-and-coming local studio known for sculptural pieces of utilitarian design and bold chromatic interior designs. His work is very material oriented, largely inspired by Guatemalan crafts. Sofía Contreras-Paredes specializes in conceptual design and textile manipulation with artisan processes in various media - clothing, surface design and art-objects, through her own studio MEÜS, listed as one of the 10 most relevant Latin American brands in terms of sustainability. Manuel Rionda is also part of the collective, and is one of the most important photographers in Guatemala. His commercial, editorial and artistic work has given face to many of the most important advertising campaigns in Guatemala. Finally, Mauricio Contreras-Paredes is a visual artist and anthropologist. His work has been exhibited in countries of America and Asia and belongs to important public and private collections in Latin America and Europe.

Together, the five of them design and manufacture the limited edition objects, thinking in the concept of "Collectible Design", a branch of design that thinks of objects as works of art and seeks to create unique pieces of rare or unique editions that become exclusive acquisitions for collectors who appreciate objects knowing their meaning and their unique value as a handmade creation. The world of design and art have always had moments of encounter and great differences, until now the idea of the "utility" of design separated objects from art forms such as sculptures or installations. The "utility" is still the difference between both branches, especially now that collectible design proposes to get as close as possible to art and create unique objects around a concept, research and study of the environment.

For the “La Suma de Pequeñas PArtes” collection, the confinement due to the pandemic was decisive, since the collection stems from the desire to return to open spaces, to parks, to experience fresh air and nature. For this reason, the forms they developed take up elements of children's playgrounds, especially the worn metal structures found in any Latin American park.

Each piece also integrates typical Guatemalan artisan elements. The lamp, for example, uses hanging amulets made with Chinautla clay, which is a type of traditional clay, worked and fired by small communities that live isolated from industrial production. The bar-cart invites you to serve and taste wines on certified conacaste wood trays, a precious hardwood from the north of the country (very close to the archaeological sites of Tikal, as well as the plains on the south coast. Finally, the chair uses recycled cotton fibers, woven with backstrap looms, resulting in completely handmade and nature-friendly textiles.Its texture results from a technique traditionally designed to preserve the heat of food, totally transforming its function and palette.

None of the objects designed by the collective is identical to the other, remaining faithful to the idea of exclusivity that each of the pieces has.

Galería Rebelde believes in design and contemporary art as a way of interpreting and rethinking the world, and its mission is to present to its collectors different forms of Guatemalan creativity that best represent the avant-garde and rebellion in their creations.

Photos by Achach Fotografía for Design Week México and José Oquendo.