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My work is greatly influenced by my international background, cultural sensitivities and my education. Born in Colombia, raised in New Zealand and educated in the United States (art history and painting), I have lived and taught art and art history in Greece since 1997.
Ever since I can remember I have been collecting objects and images. The main content of my work are the vast materials I have gathered for more than 30 years. Beginning at University with oil paintings on canvas, then to collage, I proceeded to use from my immense collections to create my assemblages. Attracted to materials found in nature, such as hair, beehives, teeth and bones, meshed with everyday objects such as boxes, dilapidated frames and printed matter, I try to create an elusive quality by exploring associations that convey intense emotion. With these materials I am able to articulate my perspective of the world.
When I come upon an object, I initially look at its purpose, then its physical appearance, texture, color, and where it came from. I thirst to alter it in some way while yearning to discover its unique beauty. I begin to gather together what I feel has a connection with the object or image, in either a conceptual or visual way. In creating my work, I believe one of my biggest challenges is trying to figure out exactly what relationship these raw materials have with each other and then their contradictions. My subject matter is birth, death, the body, pain, pleasure and the contemporary interspersed with nostalgia. As evidenced in a selection of works, juxtapositions between the beautiful and the ugly, the serene\violent, optimism\pessimism, plastic\natural are now translated into biting edge beauty intermingled with a hint of the macabre. To complete my process through these works I try to emote a glimpse of uneasiness for the viewer. Titles also play an important role in my work.
Ever since I can remember I have been collecting objects and images. The main content of my work are the vast materials I have gathered for more than 30 years. Beginning at University with oil paintings on canvas, then to collage, I proceeded to use from my immense collections to create my assemblages. Attracted to materials found in nature, such as hair, beehives, teeth and bones, meshed with everyday objects such as boxes, dilapidated frames and printed matter, I try to create an elusive quality by exploring associations that convey intense emotion. With these materials I am able to articulate my perspective of the world.
When I come upon an object, I initially look at its purpose, then its physical appearance, texture, color, and where it came from. I thirst to alter it in some way while yearning to discover its unique beauty. I begin to gather together what I feel has a connection with the object or image, in either a conceptual or visual way. In creating my work, I believe one of my biggest challenges is trying to figure out exactly what relationship these raw materials have with each other and then their contradictions. My subject matter is birth, death, the body, pain, pleasure and the contemporary interspersed with nostalgia. As evidenced in a selection of works, juxtapositions between the beautiful and the ugly, the serene\violent, optimism\pessimism, plastic\natural are now translated into biting edge beauty intermingled with a hint of the macabre. To complete my process through these works I try to emote a glimpse of uneasiness for the viewer. Titles also play an important role in my work.
BFA Art History University of Illinois, Champaign IL USA
BFA Painting University of Illinois, Champaign IL USA
Post-Graduate Museums and Heritage Studies-Massey University
Exhibitions
Portrait of an Artist, Shepperson Centre, Waiheke Island
The One Day Art Sale, Mt Eden, Auckland NZ
WWF Whale Tails, Auckland, NZ
Still Life Wild Places, Katherine Mansfield House and Garden, Wellington, NZ
See The Unseen, Shepperson House, Waiheke, NZ
The Church Street Art Sale, Devonport
The Art of Death, group exhibition, Highwic House, Auckland, NZ
Group Exhibition, Studio One, Ponsonby, NZ
On the Equator, solo exhibition, Albert Park Cafe, Auckland, NZ
Members Exhibition, Depot Artspace, Devonport, NZ
seed Gallery, Group Christmas exhibition, Auckland NZ
One's Own Trade, group exhibition, Viaduct, Auckland, NZ
Troxadin, book cover illustration, Yialo Pub. Athens, Greece
Mixed Media Works, Lake House Arts Centre, Auckland, NZ
Original Arts Sale, Auckland, NZ
Easter Show Exhibition, Auckland, NZ
Members Exhibition, Depot Artspace, Devonport, NZ
Amnesty International Matchbox Art, DepotArtSpace, Devonport, NZ
Old Fashioned Bar, street art, Psyrri, Athens, Greece
Naxos Group Exhibition, Naxos Island, Greece
Color Festival Street Art, Psyrri, Athens, Greece
Akrotechno Gallery, solo exhibition, Exarhia, Athens, Greece
Aerides Gallery, group exhibition, Plaka, Athens, Greece
Italian Embassy 150 Anniversary, Athens, Greece
Group Exhibition, Colombian-Hellenic Association, Athens, Greece
"Gift from the Sea" Anne Morrow Lindberg, book illustrations, Yialos pub.
Expressions of Art Exhibition, Lake House Arts Center, Auckland, NZ
Theatre posters, Childrens Theatre Group, Papagou, Athens, Greece
Mama Des Group Exhibition, Politistiko Kentro Papagou, Athens, Greece
Mixed Media Works, solo exhibition, Champaign, U.S.A.
Juried Group Exhibition, University of Illinois, Champaign, U.S.A.
BFA Senior Show, University of Illinois, Champaign, U.S.A.
Fine Arts, Merit Awards, Parkland College, Champaign, U.S.A.
