bio

Bio

Home Artist Statement Current and Recent Exhibits Thumbnails Art Portfolio Recent Projects Contact Me

Born and raised in Houston, TX, I attended SJS from 8th-12th grade with my junior year abroad in Zaragoza, Spain. In Spain, I encountered my passion for languages, traveling, living in foreign countries, and being among different cultures. In 2000 I moved to NYC where I attended NYU. I graduated magna cum laude in May '04 with a degree in Romance Languages and a minor in Art History. I completed the Masters portion of my MA/BA degree through the Institute of French Studies at NYU in January '05. During my time at NYU, I studied in Madrid, Paris (twice) and Dakar, Senegal.

While pursuing my academic career, I have been very serious about my artistic life as well. Although I exhibited my works from different art classes in Houston, New York, and Dakar, I participated in my first public art exhibit in New York in October 2003, showing my work at a film festival commemorating the Zapatista movement in the Americas. I also painted in front of an audience at a Día de los Muertos celebration the same year.

In January 2004, I exhibited my work at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center as part of the Exploration: Discovering Cultural Diversity through Art exhibit. I then held my first solo show at Fatty's Cafe in Astoria, Queens for two months in Fall '04, out of which I was given my first commissioned work experience. I spent the summer of 2005 volunteering in Oaxaca, Mexico as a translator to a local museum, an English teacher, and the creator of my most ambitious artistic project yet, an 8' by 11' billboard mural for the town of San Martin Huamelulpam that was erected on the freeway.

I returned to Latin America in the summer of 2006, working as a project supervisor in Pernambuco, Brazil. While completing a water education and cistern construction project, I was in charge of finding host families, setting up meal plans, getting necessary supplies, taking care of health needs, conducting town meetings etc in several towns.

In 2005, I moved to the Bay Area to begin my doctoral studies and had my first West Coast show at the Linen Life Park Avenue gallery in Emeryville. I then started an ongoing project in 2006 that culminated with a tri-city fundraiser called Art for Darfur in Spring '07. I sought to raise awareness about the dire circumstances there as well as raise funds to help civilians have access to basic necessities. I later participated in the Oakland Art and Soul Festival where I sold art work and continued to contribute to my fundraising efforts.

In July 2008, I headed to Liverpool for my first international show. I exhibited works at the International Gallery on Slater St. and then painted alongside other artists to contribute to a massive installation at the Blackie.

I am currently a sixth year doctoral candidate in the French department at UC Berkeley where I am studying Romance Languages and Linguistics. Interested in how identity affects second language acquisition, I spent the past year conducting fieldwork in Paris, Rome, and Dakar, interviewing Senegalese immigrants about language use and acquisition. I am currently writing my dissertation and hope to finish by May 2012.

While studying, I have worked as a beginning and intermediate French teacher at UC Berkeley, a substitute K-4 Spanish teacher at the Branch School in Houston, French and Spanish tutor, a French-English translator, and a search engine marketer for Kayak.com. I also traveled extensively, taking 6 months off after my qualifying exams to travel in SE Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa. My ultimate goal in life is to travel to every country in the world. While that might prove to be impossible, I am happy to report that I've visited to 47 countries and lived in 9.

I hope these experiences will continue to inspire me and help me express myself though art. I am also enjoying my opportunity to learn as many languages as possible. I am fluent in French, Spanish, and Italian, conversationally fluent in Portuguese, and I have a good grasp of Latin. If pressed, I can get by in Wolof. These language skills help me get to know and understand many cultures around the world. Opening doors leads to opening minds, and ultimately, I want my art to open everyone's mind to the vast beauty that exists in the world.

I feel extremely blessed for all the opportunities I have had. I thank my parents for all their support and love, my brother for always keeping me smiling, and my wonderful friends, here and abroad. Y'all are the reason that I continue to want to grow and learn more. I also give thanks to my beloved six-toed cat, Bootsie, who recently passed away. I really don't know why I'm thanking her but she deserves mentioning, mainly because of the six-toed thing.

Updated January 2011

Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpLIx9p0umE