Macarena Rojas Osterling

Macarena Rojas was born in 1985 in Lima, Peru. She studied Architecture at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas and subsequently transferred to the Communications Department, where she graduated in 2009. In 2012 she did the General Studies in Photography Program at the International Center of Photography in New York and in 2017 she received her Masters in Fine Arts at The Royal College of Art in London. Her work has been exhibited in Black Box Projects Cromwell Place London (2022), Crisis Galería Lima (2019), Art Lima (2018), Museo AMANO Lima (2018), Camden Arts Center London (2017), Edinburgh College of Art (2016), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Lima (2016), ArtBo Bogotá (2016), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile (2014), Wu Galería (2014-2015), International Center of Photography New York (2012), Triskelion Arts New York (2013), amongst other public and privately held exhibitions.

She lives and works in Lima.

Macarena Rojas Osterling

Drawing has always been the medium I connect with the most. Paper elicits hope, its scale and malleability invite for infinite possibilities, while the humble and intimate act of drawing demands the artist’s presence in way unto itself. I find that there is something very honest about our attempts on paper.

These works are a response to a frustrated architectural practice that I had always longed for, but that never came to fruition; the works themselves are fractions of imaginary modernist spaces intended to be brutalist compositions. The work is laced with nostalgia regarding my South American identity, expressed through the weaving lines used to construct the images, and the inclusion of language – specifically, colloquial expressions or reggaeton music lyrics. Overall, these works act as portrayals, mirrors of my own stream of consciousness and a very personal relationship to music. My paintings evolve over extended periods—often spanning one to two years —reflecting a process that is both meticulous and spontaneous. Much like my approach to drawing, each painting is infused with my thoughts and marked by deliberate scratches and revisions. The process involves layering paint, then sanding it down, symbolically attempting to erase and transform the past. Yet, traces of each previous layer invariably remain. This cycle of painting and sanding repeats, ensuring that, ultimately, every layer contributes to the final piece, leaving a visible, palpable history in the textures and depths of the wooden board.

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Education

• 2015-2017: Master of Arts in Sculpture, Royal College of Art, London.
• 2012: Certificate in General Studies in Photography, International Center of
Photography, New York.
• 2009: BA in Communications, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima.
• 2003-2004: Architecture Foundation, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas,
Lima.
• 2001: Certificate in Black and White Photography I, II, III, Centro de la Imagen,
Lima.

Solo Shows

• 2024: “Draughtswoman,” Shreeji Newsagents, London.
• 2022: “The Spaces Between,” Black Box Projects, London.
• 2019: “Prácticas Inconsistentes: En una segunda Lengua me Refugio,” Crisis
Galería, Lima.
• 2015: “Música es Por Musa,” Wu Gallery, Lima.
• 2012: “Viruses Come with the Wind,” Galería Corriente Alterna, Lima.

Publications

• 2024: “Draughtswoman,” Self-published, London.
• 2016: “The Sea as an Agent to Fathom my Latin American Identity in the Context
of London’s Postcolonial Society,” Self-published, London.
• 2015: Ojo Andino Peru: Peruvian Contemporary Artists. Imago Mundi, Luciano
Benetton Collection, Published by Fabrica.

Group Shows
• 2025: Group Show, Canopy Collections, London
• 2024: “The Fine Line,” Amalgama Gallery, Cromwell Place, London.
• 2024: “APUK1”, Británico Cultural, Lima
• 2022: “Love, Celebrations, and the Love Ahead,” TJ Boulting Gallery, London.
• 2018: “Sana, Sana,” Gallery, Gallery, Lima.
• 2018: “La voz que se oye se deja oír,” Museo Amano, Lima.
• 2017: RCA Graduate Final Show, London.
• 2017: Camden Arts Centre, London.
• 2016: The Crypt Gallery, London.
• 2016: Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland.
• 2015: ArtBo Contemporary Art Fair, Bogotá.
• 2014: “La Encomienda en Chile,” Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de
Chile.
• 2014: “Nartificial,” Studio 109, Brooklyn.
• 2014: “No View,” Galería Wu, Lima.
• 2013: Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, Miami.
• 2013: “HiperRealismo,” Galería Impakto, Lima.
• 2013: “Merge,” Triskelion Arts, Brooklyn.
• 2013: Art Lima Contemporary Art Fair, Lima.
• 2013: “Amorcito Corazón,” Centro Cultural Ricardo Palma, Lima.
• 2012: Scope Contemporary Art Fair, Miami.
• 2012: ArtBo Contemporary Art Fair, Bogotá.
• 2012: “Noche de Arte – 2012,” United States Embassy Association of Lima, Lima.
• 2012: “Homo Ludens/Urbe Ludens,” Centro Cultural El Olivar, Lima.
• 2012: “My Truth, Your Truth,” Rita K. Hillman Gallery, International Center of
Photography, New York.
• 2012: “Código Postal,” Galería Vértice, Lima.
• 2012: “None – On – Assenza dei sensi,” Palazzo Arese Borromeo, Cesano
Maderno, Milan.

Reviews

• 2024: “Scribbling A Life Story In Between The Lines,” Bed Magazine, London.
• 2024: “Rectitude et désordre: Exposition de Macarena Rojas Osterling à
Marylebone,” Française à Londres, London.
• 2020: “Do Female Artists Have to Choose Between Motherhood and a Career?”
Elephant Magazine, London.
• 2015: “La Ciencia de la Música,” El Comercio Newspaper, Lima.
• 2014: “Orgullo Peruano,” Cosas Magazine, Lima.
• 2014: “Encomienda, Remitente Perú” by Waldemar Sommer, El Mercurio
Newspaper, Santiago de Chile.
• 2014: “Obra Escondida” by Tatiana Palla, Somos Magazine, Lima.
• 2014: “Para Verte Mejor” by Luis Lama, Caretas Magazine, Lima.
• 2013: “Unless You Will” by Heidi Romano, Online Magazine.
• 2012: “La Ciencia de lo Sensible