Joya: AiR / Isabel Urbina Peña / VEN
photo Simón Beckmann
Joya: AIR / Isabel Urbina Peña / VEN
“I’m Venezuelan artist and designer based in Brooklyn, N.Y. I’m fascinated by communication that transcends language, intrigued by the role of the written word in our modern world, and by how since the beginning we have tried to leave a mark as proof of our fleeting existence.
With my work, I explore how to depart from the inherent meaning attached to letterforms by way of abstraction, while still preserving the calligraphic and handwritten quality of mark making and expression—a language without letters, and the possibilities of communicating through drawing.
Joya: AIR provided a calm space to reflect on this subject. Early in the morning, I’d take a hike through the grounds, giving myself time for introspection and observation. These walks allowed me to notice the physical structures and fences in the surroundings of the house that later informed my woven works visually. I began each session in the studio with ink drawings and making paper by hand, using Risograph prints of my own drawings. The secluded nature of the residency determined how I approached the paper-making process as I had very basic tools available (a coffee can, a fork, and a laundry bag served as my tools). The results were rough and rustic in nature, but these experiments helped me think deeper about consistency, texture, and color. These terrazo-like collages containing my own drawings quickly filled up my walls at the studio. The biggest portion of my day was spent further developing my series of paper weavings, which slowly took dimension and organically turned into hanging sculptural structures, that related with the studio space and surroundings.
To close each day during the two weeks, I would join the rest of the artists for communal dinners, discussions around our futures as artists, and how could we each develop our work further while trying to catch estrellas fugaces in the starry night above us.
I spent a lot of time thinking and discussing how I’d like my work to evolve in the next year or so, which materials and techniques could make sense for my work to move towards, and how to continue developing my practice. It was an incredibly enriching experience that has invigorated my practice and pushed my work in ways I couldn’t have imagined at home. Gracias Simon & Donna for giving me the opportunity experience Joya: AiR and share my work with fellow artists”.
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Isabel Urbina Peña
Design, Type & Lettering