GINAFUENTESWALKER

ABOUT ME
In my studio work I take a pair of scissors to paper and plastic, cutting them into abstract shapes and forms to create cut-outs and silhouettes. The plastic is transparencies, made from acetate sheets, and printed with images that I photograph of city parks where I live. The papers I use are card stock and long sheets of kraft paper and the process of cutting both paper and plastic transcends the material I happen to be using. Whether I am working large or small, the process of cutting becomes a meditation. The cut-out series has become a meditative exercise wherein I cut away the worry and concern to expose what is essential. The world outside my studio falls away as I listen to a favorite radio program and I pin a long sheet of kraft paper to the wall with clear push pins. A large wall installation can take a few days or a few weeks to complete. As you can tell from the state of my studio floor which is covered in layers of oval and triangle bits of plastic and paper that fall from my work table, this series has been ongoing for a few years. It is a departure from the photo based 'untitled transparencies' series that until recently, made up the bulk of my studio work. And certainly it is different from the images I create as a commercial photographer, capturing images of architectural interiors and artwork exhibited in galleries, museums and artist studios.

Since 2007 my studio work was focused on images I shot of trees and landscapes that I printed on transparencies so that light could filter through the material and create another layer or image on the studio wall that became abstract patterns and silhouettes of the natural world. In 2012 this series of transparency cut-outs expanded to include cut printed and plain papers as a new medium for installation. These paper cut-outs started with a series of artist books she produced for the annual MasqueLibros Artist Book Fairs in Madrid. A collaboration in 2013 with clothing designer Babatunde Ajiboye resulted in the printing of a series of my cut-outs onto fabric for a commission of men and women's wear for the annual Chashama Gala in New York. Group and solo exhibitions of my studio work include gallery and site-specific installations in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Italy and Germany. I have been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Smithsonian Institution, Chashama and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. From 2007 - 2015, I was a resident artist at Chashama Studios in New York.

C O M M E R C I A L W O R K
I photograph museum and gallery exhibition designs, architectural interiors, museum and private collections. Client list includes the Smithsonian Institution, The New-York Historical Society, The American Bible Society, The Museum of Biblical Art, the Mount Vernon Hotel+Museum and the Asia Society.

C U R A T O R I A L
My independent and collaborative curatorial projects are focused on exhibiting the work of contemporary artists based in New York. In 2005, I co-founded artHARLEM, a core group of volunteer artists, curators and gallerists that produced a seven year series of exhibitions, artist programming and an annual open studio tour that concluded in 2012.


www.ginafuenteswalker.com