| Venezuelan artist Patricia Cazorla creates “diaries” or personal collections of portraits of women who have a significance to her, whether because of their bold characters or because of their simple beauty.Experiencing life feels like inhaling fresh air. It’s not like you take a book, read a chapter, and you’ve gained this or that. |  |
Susan Schmidberger
I find women intriguing. I get inspired, through conversations and detailed observational studies, by the personal history, culture, visions, and dreams of the women I depict. I have worked for several years, in an effort to portray and reveal through their physical appearance, that which is not apparent to the common eye. Each portrait carries a story that has inspired it, and sometimes that has come to be through the portrait itself. These are portraits of women at all stages in life, that surround me and inspire me to render in my work a permanent aspect of such fleeting concepts as life, age, culture, beauty, and gender. My work is layered, deep and powerful—my aim is to grasp the female essence and portray the experience of being a woman.
—Patricia CazorlaVenezuelan artist Patricia Cazorla creates “diaries” or personal collections of portraits of women who have a significance to her, whether because of their bold characters or because of their simple beauty. Cazorla depicts the emotions, sensibilities, and personalities of her subjects through vivid colors, strong brush strokes, and collages of images taken from the media, although her favorite media is oil paint. “I am Venezuelan,” Cazorla says, “but my blood is actually ‘mixed media.’” She has experimented with video, drawing, silk-screening, lithography, and collage in order to achieve a clear interpretation of her feelings and life experiences. She has been influenced by Spanish artists from the 19th century such as Joaquin Sorolla, as well as the American painter Romaine Brooks. Contemporary artists Elizabeth Payton, Marlene Dumas, and Kehinde Wiley have also influenced Carloza’s art.
Cazorla moved to New York at the age of 21, and joined the Art Students League of New York, the School of Visual Arts, and Pratt Institute to further develop her work and to explore new techniques in painting, drawing, and digital media. Since Cazorla moved to New York, she has participated in national and international exhibitions such as El Museo del Barrio’s 4th Biennal, the (S) Files (New York), and the Americas at Esther Klein Art Gallery (Philadelphia). She has also been included in exhibitions at Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (Brooklyn), the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences (New Jersey), Werketage Gallery (Germany), Museo de Bellas Artes (Venezuela), and the Cork Gallery at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York).
Living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn since 1999, Cazorla has become part of its multicultural community, and appreciates its importance in her art. “It helps you to understand other cultures through the eyes of an individual,” Cazorla says. “At that moment you are connected to the universe. It’s also a way to make peace.” In 2003, she founded Galeria Galou, an alternative art space with the primary purpose of supporting emerging artists locally and internationally. It was formed with the works of artists interested in fresh, cutting-edge, and experimental approaches to art. It exists for the sake of freedom of the art form and its concept. “…it has nourished me in all aspects of my artwork and my personal life,” Cazorla says. “It helps me to develop my own criteria, turning down the trends.” She is currently the curatorial assistant at Lehman College Art Gallery. Patricia Cazorla is an intriguing woman in her own right.
This feature is dedicated to Cazorla’s grandmother, Rosa Saleme, her inspiration in life.
