Bianca Velasquez (she/her) is a Salt Lake City local who has been involved with the arts and music community for over a decade. Velasquez is currently a freelance writer for several publications including Southwest Contemporary, Hyperallergic, and SLUG Magazine. As an artist, Velasquez works in acrylics, digital art, beadwork and more. After working as SLUG Magazine’s Managing Editor at 25, Velasquez has poured herself into her visual art, captivating her relationship to family, herself and the act of recording. Velasquez’ beadwork interrogates the process of negotiating space, both physically on the canvas and emotionally as she carves out space within herself for the lengthy task of self realization. Velasquez currently holds a Vice-Chair position for local non-profit Mestizo Arts and serves as a curator and event organizer for the Mestizo Gallery
ARTIST STATEMENT
The natural and repetitive act of beading and painting has unexpectedly provided me a therapeutic outlet for deep internal wounds surrounding PTSD and generational trauma that has recently been vividly and consistently surfacing. As a person who uses work and a state of productivity as a method to “quiet the noise,” painting and more so beadwork has handed me a tool to chip away at the internal work necessary for healing. It has also opened a connecting door to my Honduran lineage through the beading tradition. While my work can be abstract and primal, I hope to tell short stories through details that resonate with others who have ever felt the same type of intangible despair that comes with mental health issues.
LINKS
https://biancavelasquez.com
IMAGES
Bianca Velasquez, “Your Best Behavior,” 2023, beadwork, 16 x 20 in.
Bianca Velasquez, “Easy to Raise,” 2023, beadwork/acrylic on recycled canvas,
36 x 36 in.
Bianca Velasquez, “Tu Y Tu Caballo Tambien,” beadwork/acrylic on recycled canvas, 20 x 16 in.
Bianca Velasquez, “Futbol Star, 2023, acrylic on recycled canvas, 16 x 20 in.
Bianca Velasquez, “How Long Was I Out,” 2023, acrylic on recycled canvas, 20 x 16 in.
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Categories: Multi-media | Painting | Textiles | Utah Artists - V
