Photo courtesy of Juliana Vallejo..
Open Studio: Saturday, May 12 from 12pm to 5pm
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Visit Juliana Vallejo’s studio at Red Dirt Studio during artist-led Gateway Arts District Spring 2018 Open Studios Tour.
Photo courtesy of Juliana Vallejo.“I am a process-focused artist. Working primarily in painting and drawing, I express myself on large surfaces, with many works being life-size or larger. My approach is highly physical, regularly moving the works from the floor to the wall and back, and using my bare hands and feet to apply different thicknesses of paint. My interaction with medium and surface plays an essential role in my art making. My approach to art is a constant self-exploration, a way of getting in touch with myself and digging into my subconscious mind, my buried thoughts and ideas.
Ahorcadita by Juliana Vallejo. Courtesy of the artist.My work is highly influenced by artists such as Jenny Saville, Frederick Hundertwasser and Alejandro Obregon. In Saville’s work I find the grotesque bodies, bold marks and gestures extremely compelling and inspiring. Hundertwasser’s exquisite use of colors, lines, compositions, and his hidden yet obvious faces provide a model for creating a complete work from many different parts. Obregon’s abstraction of the world and the topics conveyed in his paintings of the never-ending chaos of Colombian society pushes me to explore the places that terrify me. I have been greatly influenced by thinkers Sayagyi U Ba Khin, Sakyong Mipham and Michael Singer, among others. In their writings, I find resources that help me understand our humanity and accept the impermanence of all things.
Guerrera Roja by Juliana Vallejo. Courtesy of the artist.My dedication to painting has pushed me to constantly explore new media, new surfaces, and new ways of expressing myself through mark making, gestures and colors. I challenge the pictorial plane and the boundaries of the images on it, their movement and their way of interacting with their surroundings.”
– Juliana Vallejo
Thin Air by Juliana Vallejo. Courtesy of the artist.Artist bio:
Juliana Vallejo is a Colombian artist residing in Falls Church, VA. She received her B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, where she was the recipient of the Undergraduate Research Grant for her project Abstract Experiment. As part of her practice she has completed artist residencies in Italy, Mexico, and the United States, and her work has been exhibited in both North America and Europe.
Red Dirt Studio is located at 4051 34th St., Mount Rainier, MD.
