Cripticandina
This painting, Cripticandina, evokes a sense of mystery. The donor said, “It constitutes a symbolic, cryptic vision of the Bolivian Andes and its insertion in the universe,"" continuing to say, “Its colors and shapes summarize the geographic and cultural complexities of the region. In a secret and hidden way, it describes the origins and development of the Andean people, and the significant traces of our past mysteriously guarded within our snow-capped mountains.”
Alfredo La Placa (1929 – 2016), was a pioneer of Bolivian abstract art. In 2015, Carlos Mesa, a Bolivian historian, wrote, ""He has lived from very early on the strange vital passion of the Andes and has always been willing to listen to its sound, to open his spirit to those unknown echoes that he leads to the brush and from it to the canvas."" La Placa was director of the National Museum of Art in Bolivia and professor of art at the University of San Andres, La Paz. His work has been exhibited across Europe and South America.
This gift was given to the United Nations upon its 50th Anniversary in 1995 and was presented by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, Antonio Aranibar Quiroga.
Upon acceptance of the painting, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said, “With this gift to the United Nations, the presence of Bolivia can be felt in these halls. Alfredo La Placa shows us a land of varied landscapes. It is a land of ancient civilizations, and it is a land of the New World. It is a land which upholds, with its neighbors and with the world, the ideals of peace and justice.”