The work of Feliciano Centurión (1962, San Ignacio, Paraguay – 1996, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is characterized by the use of fabrics and embroidery, a practice traditionally associated with the feminine creative sphere and central to Paraguayan culture since the Triple Alliance War (1864–1870), when the country lost ninety percent of its male population. Through embroidery, crochet, and sewing, the artist created images and texts to express desires and thoughts, composing his works as an intimate diary. After being diagnosed with HIV, Centurión began to narrate aspects of his experiences and fears related to the disease, working in increasingly smaller and more intricate formats.

Centurión grew up in Argentina, where he went into exile to escape Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship. In Buenos Aires, he became a key figure in the artistic renewal movement that emerged around the Ricardo Rojas Cultural Center during the 1990s. At that time, local artistic production was marked by the exploration of subjectivity in multiple ways, often incorporating elements of popular culture that had previously been regarded as kitsch or lacking artistic value. Although his career was tragically short, Centurión remains a central, though still underrecognized, figure in the recent history of Latin American contemporary art.

Solo exhibitions dedicated to Centurión have been organized by institutions including the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA), New York, USA (2023); the Institute of Fine Arts – New York University, New York, USA (2023); Americas Society, New York, USA (2020); and the Centro Cultural de España Juan de Salazar, Asunción, Paraguay (2013).

His works have also been featured in group exhibitions such as Colección. Arte Contemporáneo: 1975 – Presente, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain (2026); the 13th Shanghai Biennale, China (2021); the 33rd Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2018); the 5th Havana Biennial, Cuba (1992); Maison de l’Amérique Latine, Paris, France (1996); Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway (2022); and MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2022), among others.

He received the Fundación Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires Award at the Museo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1996), and the Fundación Nuevo Mundo Award at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1994, 1993, and 1992).

Centurión’s works are held in the collections of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, USA; and the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), Argentina.