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Sandra Mack-Valencia

New York, NY

"Contemporary figurative paintings that spark conversations and spread positiveness"
My love for arts and in particular painting, has always been there. My dad was a painter, so from a very early age I witnessed the creative process and was exposed to color and forms. Also, in Medellin, where I’m from, storytelling is part of our culture, and I love it! I used to beg my mom and aunts to tell me all kinds of stories when I was a kid, and as a teenager I enjoyed very much reading short stories, essays, tales, fiction, and in particular books that fell into the magical realism genre. Now as an adult, when I look at my paintings, I do see they have a strong narrative aspect component.
I love images. I collect lots of them. Whenever I find an image that speaks to me, I keep it. It might not show up in one of my paintings right away, but eventually it will make its way to my work. I draw inspiration from many other sources like stories, memories, movies, fashion, all that feeds my imagination and my visual vocabulary, but once I start painting the work reaches a moment where it takes off on its own and separates from the story or image that inspired it and becomes a separate individual with its own demands, and it is then that a conversation w/ the paintings starts. It is like a dance, and sometimes like a battle. The painting starts asking for balance, for things to be added or subtracted, for places on tha panel to visually rest -that’s why many times I leave lots of white in the space, because I feel the need of a place on the surface for the eye to rest and take off again. Sometimes I have some idea of what I’m doing, but most of the time that idea shifts and the ending painting is always a surprise. Even though my work has a narrative component, it doesn’t always come after the story, in many cases the painting is first, and then it inspires a story.
Wescover creator since 2020
Projects Portfolio
Residential Project
New York, NY
Residential Project
New York, NY
Residential Project
New York, NY
The Church of St. Paul the Apostle
New York, NY

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