Artist Statement
Working with textiles, fibers, and paper becomes a meditative process that mirrors the delicate complexity of human experience—including my own. My Colombian heritage, rich in embroidery and craftsmanship traditions, deeply influences my work. My perspectives are shaped by cultural transition, beauty standards, and personal encounters with domestic abuse. Repurposed garments and paper are central to my practice: when a garment/paper that once structured a body is reduced to scraps and reconstructed, it represents a body receiving a second chance—a testament to our capacity for metamorphosis.
Bio
I was born and raised in Colombia in 1990 in a family where embroidery and craftsmanship were essential for making a living. I completed my bachelor’s degree in visual arts at UTP and embarked on a reflective journey about the meaning of beauty and body agency through my illustrations. In 2018, I migrated to the United States with limited English skills and a lot of hope, settling in a small town in Connecticut.
With no connections or support to make a living in the arts, my very first job in this country was at a popular coffee shop, where I spent long days pouring coffee and mopping floors. During this time, I was involved in a toxic relationship that left me with no choice but to pack my life in garbage bags and move in with a newly met store manager, who kindly opened the doors of her home and the road that later would lead to my life in New York City.
I experienced grief, divorce, and emotional trauma during the pandemic while trying to make a living as a personal assistant for a fashion designer. I helped her build an after-school fashion design program and later became part of the management team. Throughout all those challenging years since my arrival in this country, I felt disconnected from my art practice until the Guggenheim Museum opened their doors for me as a Teaching Artist. It was only then, teaching art to young minds from the artist's point of view, that I reconnected with myself and began healing my wounds through my art-making practice. My life experiences began to manifest through the various mediums I explored before, welcoming mixed media sculptures where houses made of upcycled textiles and clay body pieces reflect on migration and body agency.