Cooperativa SalvatierraArte CampoTaller Bolivia Taller GuasaseRomanet Zarate

Claudia Mercado

Taller Hermanos Guasase is a family-owned workshop in the mission town of San Ignacio de Velasco in the heart of the Jesuit mission district in the Chiquitania region of Bolivia.

The workshop is part of a recent revival of the mission era carving techniques. The original San Ignacio church was built in 1761 by the Jesuit priest Martin Schmid. The indigenous Chiquitanos were trained by the Jesuits to carve and paint the ornamention of the altars, pillars, frescoes and niche. The artisans adapted the Baroque style to express their own vision and mythology. The result is an unusual mestizo aesthetic, almost unknown outside of Bolivia. After decades of neglect, the churches of the Chiquitania were saved in 1980s and 90s, part of a historic preservation campaign by Swiss architect Hans Roth. Many of the churches were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1991.

The artists of Taller Hermanos Guasase, "Workshop Brothers Guasase" in English, have revived the original techniques. They carve in tropical hardwoods** such as mahogony and cedar and paint with natural ochre minerals that they find locally and mix by hand. All of their designs are replicas or inspired by carvings and paintings from the Jesuit churches in the Chiquitania.

** Taller Hermanos Guasase uses Forest Stewardship Council Certified tropical woods.