Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Anguiano.
Hi Kim, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Creating on multiple platforms is an important part of my vision,expression and lifestyle. The universal language of art for me has the power of connection. It’s my ambition to translate and exchange with the viewer while I speak through my art.
I am a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in San Antonio, I’ve been shaped by my home, experiences, and navigating through life knowing I could define my own world with my imagination. I challenge myself to recreate the space around me through art.
I began my deep interest in art in highschool. I began painting and creating with consistency in 2001. I knew I wanted to become an artist after my mom died of cancer. I knew being an artist would shift my identity into someone I could choose to be, and not become what life’s edges hand out.
My work ranges from multi-media artworks, installation art, assemblage art, sculptural paintings, art-film video projections. I also create wearable art in accessories. Designs also include styled wire wigs inspired by my work backstage as a theatrical wig stylist at the Majestic Theatre.
Previous art releases include an interactive art series titled “Power” that highlights the BOUNCE- BACK objectives for community empowerment. This series was premiered at Blue Star Arts Complex, Alpha Women’s Home, and Girls Inc.
Other expression as of today is currently in music appreciation. I’m finding myself pop up with other musicians in small settings as I grow as a performance artist playing rhythm, on electric guitar.
I explore various platforms as a way of expressing my ideas and fragments of my personality. Art reveals a vulnerable side, a space for honesty, feelings and emotions. It’s a place to dream big with no boundaries in your heart and mind. The content and subjects of my work evolves, just like my life.
Today, my artworks are seen in multiple exhibitions all over San Antonio. I’m represented at The Doriva Gallery located at the Shops at La Cantera and in Fort Worth TX..
I am also now the owner, curator, and host of my own artist-run studio the Modern Eclipse Gallery located at Blue Star Arts Complex in the Upstairs Studios.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggles have popped up externally and internally over the years and they’ll still pop up out of nowhere today. I tend to focus on what I have and utilize my strengths. I often express to the next-gen that typically nothing always happens overnight, Anything you do will happen with passion, dedication and perseverance. Always move realizing it may take years for the right people to see you, and so what, create work you are proud of.
Tough times on my journey included not having mentors, a deceased mother, no sure direction, and limited funds while raising my daughter, I was figuring out a lot along the way working as a theatrical wig stylist. It made me want to quit my dream of being an artist with the discouragement, but that wasn’t an option. It’s like telling a fish not to swim. The sacrifice to invest everything including a lot of time for fun, and simply relaxing,and time away from family took a toll on my well being. The process of creating an honest concept and production of arts is very involved for most artists.
Strangely, even in the struggles, I was still living my best life, free in my reality, developing my aesthetics and style, detached from outside expectations. I knew if I wanted to be in a new creative avenue, it wasn’t going to be handed to me, I needed to earn it.
There were times where I experienced extended losses and grief which made a depression consume me to where my productivity was not moving as fast, but luckily the ideas were always resting in my head space, and eventually I needed them to come to life. I’ve never been afraid of being a creator because I know who I am and it’s real. I love challenges. I crave saying “It’s no big deal, I’m coming up with something else”… and I do.
My faith and blessings of meeting the right people at the right time has guided me along the way with their art appreciation, kindness and consideration which has led me to return to myself AS well as reinventing myself which is seen not only in my art but also in my individual, eclectic style.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My artworks are influenced by abstract expressionism, pop art, conceptual art, scenic, design, and contemporary art. I’m also a fan of art-deco, cubism, theatrical and performance art.
I’m known for my sculptural and dimensional paintings that began with an installation art design titled “Self-Ease”.
In the Self-Ease figurative art series I explore empathy, self-love and self-discovery through the abstract faceless figures symbolizing shared humanity.
Creating with mixed medium, often using bright colors, I enjoy creating textures that contrast from application to paint effects, and in layering my foundation for each unique piece.
I’m proud to say this series brings me so much joy. It reaches a wide range of enthusiasm and connection with many people.
I believe the Self -Ease series has set me apart from others by creating abstract faces resemblances designed intentionally within the body forms. Sometimes the viewer can see the abstract face and sometimes they have to look twice because the face may be upside down or sideways within the bodyform.
These designs are often dimensional on canvas or panel structures. They are now being created as wall art sculptures in smaller forms with mixed medium.
The other Anguiano Art series which is celebrated and highly collected is titled “Companion” which are abstract faces created with mixed medium on structures.
The abstract faces symbolize timeless moments where I try to capture a rare, special bond in it’s overall appeal. A softer and playful side is seen in this romance art with undertones of escapism and various personality revelation. The abstract faces radiate a specific harmony locked between two subjects, highlighting a sense of bliss. Some pieces are created in dimensional renditions. Using a specific color palette and composition for each piece helps me develop different kindred spirits that intertwine to reach different viewers perception. I often use bright colors and textures to develop a mood in my art. Dynamics of love are shared in the conceptual direction of the Companion series.
I’m also known for my “Abstract Women” and scenic, abstract landscape expressionism paintings. A variety of these works uses mostly black paint with resin in an accents or design that to me, looks like wet ink. This application gives an edge but the action art done with intention, it also feels sleek to me, yet gritty, I see unapologetic statements in these pieces. I have created multiple abstract women in this medium that are bold and eccentric in gesture.
What’s next?
I am living in every moment today with gratitude. Every day I continue to proceed with my innovation, ideas, and grounding myself into authenticity which is sufficient for staying consistent . I believe in being prepared for future doors that will naturally open and invite me in .
Being in the Doriva Gallery at The Shops at La Cantera and in Fort Worth TX. gives me the exposure to branch out even further. Through Doriva, I continue to connect and deliver art to the most fantastic art collectors from various places such as Canada, Louisiana, Oklahoma City, The Bahamas, and all over Texas.
Today, owning my own gallery, the Modern Eclipse, I will continue to create and expand, not only for myself but also with other artists in my community. I enjoy engaging with artists who resonate with my same intentions, ambition to evolve with a genuine mindset, with originality and professionalism as we thrive in our city.
I look forward to continue to be seen throughout my city and beyond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anguiano-art.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anguiano_art and https://www.instagram.com/modern_eclipse_gallery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1HhcoXJWi9/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/6h7-1Zzuf-g
Image Credits
“Art and the Artist” of Anguiano Art .
Photography taken at the Modern Eclipse Gallery at Blue Star Arts Complex by Lacy Valentine at Instagram – vxcphotography13 .
