Seba Calfuqueo debuts Mapuche-themed exhibition at Thyssen Museum

Mapuche artist Seba Calfuqueo is presenting ‘Cautín’, her first solo exhibition in Europe, at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. The exhibition, a collaboration with the TBA21 Foundation, will be on display until January 17, 2027.

Through more than 25 works—including video installations, 3D animation, ceramics, and hand-embroidered paintings—Calfuqueo explores the Cautín River as a living entity and a repository of memory rather than a mere resource. The work aims to honor the resistance of the Mapuche people against centuries of colonization and to decentralize the human role within the natural environment.

The exhibition also touches upon the political dimensions of water rights in Chile, referencing the 1981 Water Code. The presentation is curated by Marina Avia Estrada and utilizes the color ‘kalfü’ (blue), which holds deep spiritual significance for the Mapuche people, to organize the visitor experience.