C A T A L I N A
P a s t r a n a A c o s t a
About me
Catalina Pastrana Acosta is a contemporary artist and designer from Medellín, Colombia. Raised amidst the vibrant culture of her hometown, she now splits her time between New York and Medellín, infusing her work with a unique cross-cultural perspective. Catalina recently completed her MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, underscoring her dedication to refining her artistic techniques and vision.
Her work, influenced by her background in fashion design and fine arts, features a distinctive visual language marked by bold experimentation with textiles and paint and an innovative approach to form, color, and texture. Catalina's creations provide immersive experiences that invite viewers to connect deeply with her artistic expression.
Catalina's work has been recognized with the Spring 2023 Dana Pond Award and the Spring 2022 SMFA Dean's Research Award from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, MA. Her art has been featured in notable exhibitions such as BOLD: Challenging Norms, Igniting Dialogue at MassArt x SoWa, and Been Here Before at the Aidekman Arts Center in Boston, MA, reflecting her engagement with dynamic and thought-provoking themes.
Catalina's work is included in several private collections and continues to attract the interest of collectors and art enthusiasts, showcasing a growing appreciation for her innovative and impactful creations.
In the Artist Words
As a Colombian fiber artist, I am driven by a deep exploration of the connection between emotional fluctuations and the body's physical experience. My artistic practice, grounded in scientific research and personal journaling, harnesses this interdisciplinary perspective to create art that mirrors the intricate dance between our inner emotions and outward expression.
In my work, I use fibers, thread, and paint to create intimate portraits that capture the essence of emotional experiences. My approach combines traditional embroidery techniques with dynamic paint application, allowing the materials to interact and evolve on the canvas. This process demands the full engagement of my body—one hand up, one hand down, threading the canvas with fibers to create a language of body cells. I find joy in coding my colors and then dragging the paint across the canvas, embracing the unpredictability of its movements as it overlaps, combines, or vanishes. Each stitch and brushstroke becomes a manifestation of the ebb and flow of emotions, transforming personal and collective experiences into intimate visual forms. By blending the precision of fiber art with the fluidity of paint, I create pieces that invite viewers to engage deeply with their own emotional landscapes and the underlying rhythms of their bodies.
My creative expression reflects on the beauty and complexity of our emotional experiences, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of how these fluctuations influence our lives.
