ARTIST STATEMENT
I’ve been obsessed with polaroid cameras of late. After another trip back to Colorado to pack and move more of our things to our new home in Wisconsin (an ongoing process). I came across my old Polaroid 600 Slate Blue Instant Camera that my sister in-law gave to me a while back before the iPhone. I remember I had the original Polaroid Rainbow One-Step in white back in college and used it for taking quick pictures of images I wanted to use as reference in my art classes. Sometimes the film got stuck and mangled, and I would have to manually pull it out, the result of this action, exposed film would develop images that were weird and cool and not anything like I photographed. I loved those photos and kept them. I secretly hoped every time I snapped a still the film would develop in some funky abstract image. Of course the film would have to get stuck and I would have to yank it out. It was really better than photographing trees or objects. I also realized that this happy coincidence was in a way like abstract painting. The process of experimentation and allowing mistakes to happen. The paintings that I am submitting are from images I remember from those polaroid mistakes. Beautiful abstract images that bend the eyes to interpret infinite possibilities.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Pia Pilar Reynaldo an abstract painter resides in Wisconsin with her husband John. Her abstract paintings are powerful, meditative, and emotional. They represent feelings of the present and of the past. Her distinctive style is representative in her strong brush strokes that project movement, and raw passion. Colors and shapes, are built through many layers of paint and the application of markings, expressing visual determination and balance. “My paintings are very emotional, bringing moments in time and experience to the surface. I want people to have their own sensations when they look at my artwork.” Reynaldo was recognized and awarded the “Outstanding Emerging Artist” in January 2021 for HerStory 2020-2021 an online exhibition of Art by Women, presented by the Manhattan Arts International. Recently Reynaldo exhibited in the Small Works Members Show December 2023 with Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. She also exhibited in Woman 2 Woman Art Show in March 2023 presented by Bojitt Studio and Xced Design, Chicago, Illinois. Reynaldo exhibited in April 2024 in the 15th Annual Abstracts Art Exhibition, and April 2023 in the 14th Annual Abstracts Art Exhibition presented by Light Space Time Online Art Gallery.
In March 2023 Reynaldo was featured in HerStory 2023 An Exhibition of Extraordinary Art by Women, presented by Manhattan Arts International. March 2023. Reynaldo was featured in Windows to the Inside: Expressions of Mental Health. A Virtual Exhibition, presented by Woman Made Gallery, Chicago Illinois.
© Pia Pilar Reynaldo