Kaqchikel Maya

San Juan Comalapa

b. 1955

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Paula Nicho Cúmez is an internationally known artist. She began as a weaver, and then became part of a collective of women painters that her future husband, artist Samuel Cúmez Curruchich, helped to form. Samuel had travelled to Oaxaca, Mexico, where he met artists in the surrealist tradition.

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Paula draws upon her dreams for inspiration. She always paints themes that represented the point of view of a woman and a Maya. Her paintings include elements that symbolize important parts of the Maya culture and cosmovision.

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Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.