Stephanie Gonzalez
Stephanie Gonzalez's "Geometric Landscape" paintings are a spiritual practice. They are methodical and controlled. In her paintings, viewers see a solid landscape. There is ground and sky, but everything is really energy and things that the human eye cannot see. Every object is made of tiny molecules that are made-up of even tinier atoms. Gonzalez's geometric paintings suggest this. Her artwork implies that there is more than just a landscape. A spiritual, different dimension composed of complex shapes and patterns. Her landscape is first painted using acrylic and blending techniques, then the geometrics are painted as a second layer. The geometrics are a result of consciousness and often come to her through meditation. They are meant to suggest that we are all one and suggest the unseen world.
Born in Monterrey N.L. Mexico, Gonzalez grew up with her grandparents in Reynosa, Mexico and picked up painting from her grandfather. She began painting at the age of 14 to escape a hostile environment and later started developing new techniques and experimenting with different mediums. As a child, Gonzalez moved from Georgia to Mexico, then to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. In high school, she experienced constant bullying and judgement for her sexuality, and at home, she faced an unaccepting family. She became severely depressed, and and at her lowest point, attempted suicide. The dark colors, aggressive mark-making, and distressed materials she uses in her artwork indirectly reflect this pain. “Even though my upbringing wasn’t the easiest, it really shaped the way I create.” Gonzalez is constantly creating art to draw attention to societal issues, stir powerful emotions within her audience, and express herself as a proud lesbian and Mexican woman. Her creations reflect domestic abuse, the mistreatment of women and people of color, queer struggles, and other causes she holds dear to her heart. “Art has basically been a savior for me in so many ways,” Gonzalez says. “I want to be that voice for someone who might not have one.”
Gonzalez creates mixed media abstract paintings, graphic design, murals, and interior design. She has been known to use a variety of media, such as coffee, wine, aerosol paint, watercolors, acrylics, oil pastels, and china ink. Gonzalez holds a BFA in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Houston and MFA in Painting from Houston Baptist University. She has received awards from the Glassell School of Art, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, and Rising Eyes of Texas. Public murals and collections include Starwood Hotels Le Méridien Saigon, Lot 8, Chloe Dao Boutique, Skyline Art Services, Make a Wish Foundation, and Pearl Bar. Recent artwork was on view in the exhibition, Withstand: Latinx Art in Times of Conflict, at the Holocaust Museum Houston.
View Stephanie's artwork in our 2022 exhibit, The World at Our Feet. She is also a 2023 exhibiting solo artist!