In Memoriam: Rosa Blum Perez.

We are saddened to report the untimely death of Rosa Blum Perez, a long time dealer /collector of regional folk art in Oaxaca. We remember her as a warm person dedicated to the support of folk artists in the region. 

   Married to bookstore owner Henry Wangeman, in former years she maintained a folk art gallery and store in the city of Oaxaca.

In 2012 Rosa commissioned a series of art works from talented craftsmen in several local communities on the theme of books and reading and arranged a special exhibit of these one of a kind pieces under the title “Manos que crean y ojos que leen” (Hands that create and eyes that read), at the Biblioteca Andrés Henestrosa in downtown Oaxaca City.

exhibit poster

Warming to this unusual topic, the artisans outdid themselves, creating an amazing array of highly imaginative, colorful and often humorous art objects large and small, simple and complex.

Twenty-five artisans from six different villages participated in this exhibit, which I was privileged to see while there on a visit. A couple of these works are in my personal collection.

Here, we dedicate this page to showing several of these inventive and unique examples of Oaxacan folk art in her memory.

Osito cariñoso;                         Reading Fox
 

Noah's Ark

Tres Cochinitas

reading animals

Cyclists

Pedicab

Bookstore

text © 2020 Richard D. Perry

color images by Rosalind Perry