ARTIST STATEMENT
I explore what it feels like to ‘be’ from two places and belong to neither. Intellectually, one can understand moving long distances across the globe. The resulting disorientation is inexplicable and daunting. Through the layered juxtapositions of found and new images, I analyze symbols and meanings – interpretation and misinterpretation.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mabi Ponce de León (Ph.D., History of Art, The Ohio State University, 2023; M.F.A., Studio Arts, Stony Brook University, 1992) is an independent scholar and artist. Born and raised in Argentina, she has lived and taught studio art at the Universidad de Monterrey in Nuevo León, Mexico, and currently teaches AP Art and Design and AP Art History at a top-rated Ohio school. Her art historical research interests center on Latin American artists responding to politics. Her current focus investigates 1960s Argentinian women artists associated with the DiTella Institute who question the centers of power. Research plays an important part in Ponce de León’s artwork. Guided by a personal history of displacement, Ponce de León’s studio practice incorporates works with a variety of analog and digital media and is strongly influenced by cultural iconography, maps, location, and origins. Her installation work makes use of manipulated natural and manufactured materials whereas her two-dimensional work relies on the layering of found imagery within constructed environments. Ponce de León has shown in university and commercial galleries, art centers, museums, and non-profit exhibition spaces. Additionally, she has curated shows and has worked with various arts organizations, including serving on the board of the Ohio Art League. She is a member of Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, and her work was recently included in Mirror Mirror, an exhibition that traveled from the Springfield Museum of Art, the University of Mary Washington Galleries, the Art Museum at the College of Wooster, and the Allen County Museum.
© Mabi Ponce de León