Artist-in-Residence Lina Puerta

Michael Palma Mir Photographer SHCMAS Lina Puerta 001.jpg

Lina Puerta was born in NJ, raised in Colombia and lives and works in New York City. She earned an MS from Queens College/CUNY and is the recipient of several residencies and grants including: the 2017 NYFA Fellowship in Sculpture, 2016 Dieu Donné Workspace Residency, 2015 Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant, 2015 Kohler Arts Industry Residency (WI), 2013-14 Smack Mellon Art Studio Program,2014 Materials for the Arts, 2013 Wave Hill Winter Workspace and the 2010 Emerging Artist Fellowship at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York.

Exhibition venues include: 21C Museum Hotels, Bentonville AR and Louisville, KY; Richmond Center for Visual Arts, Kalamazoo, MI; Ford Foundation Gallery, The Museum of Biblical Art, El Museo del Barrio, Socrates Sculpture Park, The 8th Floor, Wave Hill, Geary Contemporary, NYC; Pi-Artworks, London and H-Gallery, Paris.

Puerta's work has been written about in Hyperallergic, The New York Times, Art News and The Brooklyn Rail among others.

“My work examines the relationship between nature and the human made. Utilizing a wide range of materials— from concrete, clay, resin, wood, foam, fabric, handmade paper, craft and recycled items, I create textural forms and compositions that blend the artificial with the natural world, exploring notions of control, consumerism and life’s fragility. My artistic process is in great part guided by the physical qualities of the materials, their textures, forms and colors.

I hope my work will reinforce what children already know, which is that there is joy in art-making and that through creating and "playing" with materials' endless possibilities, you can create something revealing and surprising even to you as the artist/maker. I hope children will learn to examine, question and observe everyday materials around them, beyond its presumed functionality.”

Lina Puerta

A LOOK AT LINA’S WORK

Untitled (with Kuna Mola), 2018

40”H. x 48”W. x 6”D

Concrete, Polyurethane, wood, foam, fiberfill, sequined fabrics, reused Mola of the indigenous Kuna people of Panama and Colombia; lace, acrylic and aluminum sheeting; leather, fake fur, cotton paper pulp, paint and chains.

photo: courtesy of the artist

Cáscara (Peel), 2014.

12’H. x 19’W. x 1’D. Site-specific installation. Fabric, lace, wood, formed plastic sheeting, trims and beads.

Untitled (Tree and Frame), 2014.

57” H. x 38” W. x 5” D. Concrete, Polyurethane foam, reed mesh, wire, paint, fabric, lace, leather, faux fur, artificial moss and plant, gilded frame, chains, broken jewelry, feathers, flocking, Swarovski crystals and beads. Photo: Bill Orcutt

DETAIL of Matorral, from the Botánico Series, 2014

8' H. x 14' W. x 1' D. (Installation Variable) Polyurethane foam, wood, resin, paint, fabric, fiberfill, rhinestones, trims, beads, chains, artificial plants and moss.