Artist reception this Saturday at New Haven Public Library

New Haven Free Public Library Art Gallery
133 Elm St., New Haven
The World of Paradoxes: Paintings by Lisie S. Orjuela
Through Apr. 30, 2010
Artist Reception: Sat., Apr. 24, 2—4 p.m.

Press release

There will be an artist's reception this Saturday afternoon from 2—4 p.m. at the New Haven Free Public Library for the show The World of Paradoxes featuring the paintings of Lisie Orjuela. The show closes on Apr. 30.

"The world of paradoxes currently engages my attention," writes Lisie Orjuela. "Our interior territories—with the struggles and contradictions of the soul, the spirit, the psyche, and the mind—is a vast, complicated, and intriguing field. The attempt to understand and be consciously aware of this, motivates me and drives my artwork. My paintings integrate and weave thoughts, feelings, and experiences into an avenue in which to tap into, explore and inhabit these bewildering paradoxes. I use the format of diptychs and triptychs to accentuate the underlying sense of disruption, disconnection, abstraction, which is juxtaposed with continuity, fluidity, connections.

"I work in a way that reflects natural life; in a slow organic process each painting is created. The paintings are created with multiple layers of paint, visual textures, rich earthy colors, as well as human and animal forms. The figures tend to be a central part in most of the work, dissolving and coming out of the surrounding ground, interacting with it, and being a part thereof. The paintings change and evolve continuously as I work on them, as layers cover and reveal some of the earlier stages. I work with oil paints, oil bars, and oil pastels on stretched canvas. Most of my current work is approximately 4 and 5 feet square."

Originally from Argentina, and now a resident of Trumbull, Ms. Orjuela holds an MA from New York University, and a BFA from Andrews University, Michigan. She also attended the Art Students League in NYC. She began her teaching career in Mexico in 1986 as an Assistant Professor of Art at the Universidad de Montemorelos, where she later served in 1992 and 1998 as Visiting Artist and Lecturer. She has taught Studio Art, Art History, and Museum at such schools as Hunter College High School, and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. She has lectured in Mexico and at St. Paul's Chapel on the campus of Columbia on the development of early Christian and sacred medieval art, and on Spiritualism and Feminism.