In Flight: Paula Nicho Cúmez

Paula Nicho Cúmez (born January 15, 1955) is a Mayan-Guatemalan artist from San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Her painting career began at age 30, though her artistic roots lie in the weaving her mother taught her as a child. In 1985, she began painting under Salvador Cúmez Curruchich, a master painter and her soon-to-be husband. Though no longer a weaver, Nicho Cúmez drew from her vast knowledge of the art in her new medium.

Her art is informed by her Mayan culture; frequent subjects include native women, her town, and the sacred Maya book Popol Vuh. Dreams are often the source of her ideas, especially those related to flying. That her paintings are categorized as surreal or magic realist then makes sense. Maya women are at the forefront of her work because she championed equality among male and female painters, native and otherwise.

During her expansive career, Nicho Cúmez has been awarded the National Order of Guatemala's Cultural Patrimony, among other honors, inspired the short film Del Azul del Cielo, and was the only Maya woman invited to the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institute.

To learn more, visit https://www.novica.com/artistdetail/?faid=7332

Cruzando Fronteras (Crossing Borders), 2007, 24" x 32"

Q'a B'anobal (Nuestro Identidad), 2008, 25" x 33"

Ruk'ux Je'el (Heart of the Corn), 2002, 18" x 24"