SOFIA MALDONADO
Puerto Rican-Cuban artist. Her work focuses on developing poetic experiences, color abstractions and narratives of the Caribbean imagination. La Ninfaaa, mi cuento. The proposal by the artist Sofía Maldonado Suárez, “La Ninfaaa, my story” is a project that contemplates the landscape through the eyes of its avatar. La Ninfaaa, a mythical character who tells her story of post-pandemic spiritual growth. It is a journey of bodies of water, emotional healing, changes in currents and contemplation of the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The project emphasizes deepening the understanding of our ancestral wounds by interacting with life lessons, narratives of the imagination and immersing ourselves in the poetic experience of dancing with your shadow to allow your inner light shine brighter.
During her stay in Madrid where he lived for two years (2021-2022), he traveled to Valencia, Ibiza, Formentera and La Gomera, longing for her connection with bodies of water (natural springs and the sea). La Ninfaaa , attracted by pirate stories, realized that she could only survive near the sea. His deep connection to the ocean revived his ancestral wound, memories of his Cuban heritage, and his strong connection to the color blue – Yemaya! Upon his return, she located her studio in Yabucoa, a coastal agricultural town in the Boriken archipelago, the creative base for the narrative of this exhibition. The project consists of a series of eight digital prints on canvas (24 in. x 34 in.), intervened with acrylic paint and glitter. They are images drawn from experiences during 2020 to 2023, and poetic reflections from the imagination of La Ninfaaa. The proposal also includes a selection of ceramics and organic materials collected from the shores of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. The project has the collaboration of Finca Caribe, an agroecological farm, where the ceramic pieces were created and burned on a bonfire, using clay from its mountains. A video that documents the narrative of La Ninfaaa, edited by Gio Maldonado and directed by Sofía Maldonado Suárez. In addition to a limited edition graphic novel, which deepens the narrative of the works on canvas using text and photo documentation for her creative
process.
Sofía Maldonado-Suárez is a Puerto Rican-Cuban artist. Her work focuses on developing poetic experiences, color abstractions and narratives of the Caribbean imagination. Her illustrations of the female figure have evolved over the years, becoming challenging beings, sometimes sensually explicit or mythologically spiritual. In projects such as Femtrap presented in Mecanismos, at MECA Art Fair (2018), she designed a collection of drawings focused on stereotypes. of Hispanic trap singers. Maldonado has a BFA from the School of Plastic Arts, PR; an MFA from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York; and a Master in Virtual Reality from the Utad, in Madrid. Her work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum Biennial, NY; Museo del Barrio Biennial, NY; during the Havana Biennial, Cuba; PST:LA/LA MOLAA, LA; Asunción Biennial, Paraguay; CAAM, Gran Canary Islands; Museum of Art and Design, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico. He has created public art for Real Arts Ways in Connecticut; Manhattan Community Arts Fund Grant and Time Square Alliance, NY; Twitch HQ, LA; Turning Arts, in Boston and Puerto Rico; and the Ritz Carlton in Dorado, PR. He has also designed for brands such as VANS, Chocolate Cortés and Coca Cola.
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