Shanery Obeso, born in Arequipa, Perú in 1977, represented by Argentina’s Phuyu Gallery, is poised to bring a bold new instalational practice to Chile’s Ch.ACO 2026. Her upcoming solo project unfolds a cross-media inquiry that weaves textiles with industrial objects into immersive environments, redefining the relationship between maker, material, and space.
Obeso’s practice sits at the intersection of craft and industriality, continually probing how textiles—traditionally seen as intimate, domestic media—can converse with metallic, mechanical, and discarded industrial detritus. Her collaboration with Phuyu Gallery situates this inquiry within a diasporic and transregional frame, linking Argentine production with broader Latin American dialogue. Her artistic path showcases a sustained interest in object-assemblage, sculpture, and installation, where textiles act as carriers of memory, labor, and ritual.
Obeso’s body of work foregrounds the tension between softness and abrasion, handmade precision and industrial entropy. In her own words, textiles function as scaffolds for existential narratives, while industrial components provide texture, scale, and a vernacular of production. The installation logic is central: the work does not merely occupy space but choreographs it, inviting spectators to circulate through material thresholds and sensory thresholds alike.
The new series, conceived as a cohesive installational project for the upcoming solo show, merges fabric, thread, and weaving techniques with salvaged industrial parts, metal fragments, and machine components. The works operate as hybrid sculptures and environmental composites that blur boundaries between textile sculpture and sculpture-as-installation. Techniques range from weaving, braiding, and stitched layers to assembly of found industrial elements, where each textile fragment interacts with a chosen object to generate dialogue—a dialog shaped by tactility, weight, and reflective surfaces.
Thematic core includes: Material hybridity and the dialectic between manual labor and mechanized production; Memoryscape of textiles—the traces of hands, time, and seasonal cycles—recast alongside the cold, utilitarian language of metal and machinery and Ritual and ceremony embedded in the making and display, transforming the exhibition space into a field of perception rather than a passive background.
Obeso’s process is iterative and site-responsive. Preliminary studies in textiles establish a tactile organism, followed by the integration of industrial components that dictate form, gravity, and spatial occupation. The artist embraces the imperfections that arise from combining textile flexibility with metal rigidity, allowing the works to breathe and adapt to installation contexts.
The installations are conceived as environments rather than objects, designed to influence viewer movement and perception. Textiles create porous membranes through which light, air, and sound pass, while industrial fragments punctuate the composition with weight and a fragmentary narrative about production and labor. The resulting atmosphere invites contemplation of labor histories, industrial legacies, and cross-cultural exchanges within contemporary Latin American art.
The chapter of Obeso’s career aligns with Phuyu Gallery’s mission to present provocative, material-driven practices from the region. Dialogues with curators and gallery representatives emphasize a cohesive, narrative-driven solo presentation that leverages the Chilean context of Ch.ACO 2026 while maintaining an international resonance. The gallery highlights the installation’s capacity to engage audiences beyond traditional painting or sculpture, offering an immersive encounter with material memory and contemporary labor ethics.
The upcoming show aims to consolidate Obeso’s presence in regional and international circuits, with possibilities for critical coverage, publication, and broader exhibition opportunities. The Ch.ACO 2026 platform serves as a pivotal moment to situate the textiles-industrial hybrid language within a broader collectors’ and curatorial network, potentially catalyzing new collaborations and residencies.
Shanery Obeso’s blend of textile craft and industrial object-making signals a compelling direction for contemporary installation practice in Latin America. Her Ch.ACO 2026 presentation promises an experiential encounter that positions textiles as carriers of history and ritual, while industrial elements anchor the work in contemporary discourse about production, labor, and cultural exchange.
Photo credits: The photographs come from the artist’s archive.
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