María Evelia Marmolejo

María Evelia Marmolejo (born 1958) is a feminist Colombian performance artist, later based in Madrid and New York City. She is credited by the Colombian scholar María Iovino with staging the first work of feminist performance art in Colombia, in 1981.^[1]

Background

Born in Pradera, Colombia,^[2] in 1958, Marmolejo studied law from 1976 to 1978, then studied art at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Cali.^[3] She later earned a Master of Arts in Humanities from the City College of New York.^[2]

Artwork

Marmolejo's works deal with themes of gender, colonialism, and political oppression in Colombia. Her first performances span the years 1981-1985, after which there was an almost 30 year period during which she rarely performed; she became publicly active again in 2013.^[4] She has staged her performances at major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art of Bogota, Museum of Modern Art Cartagena, and the Contemporary Art Museum Guayaquil, as well as in more secluded sites.^[2] Her performances in the 1980s often included bodily fluids and infliction of injury to herself, in works responsive to political oppression in Colombia, the social conditions of women, the political context of women's bodies, and environmental issues.^[3][4]

Marmolejo self-exiled to Madrid in 1985.^[3] She is currently based in New York City.^[4]

References