Connie Arismendi (born 1955) is a

Chicana Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American iden ...

visual artist who works primarily in sculpture and mixed media installations.

Early life and education

Arismendi is the daughter of a Mexican mother and a Filipino father. They moved frequently before settling down in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

. She lives and works in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. She earned her BFA from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and her MFA from

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

Art career

Arismendi's inspiration stems from her attraction to or interest in an object rather than an abstract concept. The goal of her artwork is to provoke an emotional response or recollection from the viewer. In 1999, her exhibition ''Ascent of Memory'' was the final show for the Galería Sin Fronteras in Austin, Texas. Her artworks ''La Noche en Sevilla'', ''Bishounen (Beautiful Boy)'', and ''Sevilla'' are in the permanent collection of the United States Embassy in

Belmopan, Belize Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...

. She formed a partnership with Laura Garanzuay to form Arismendi Garanzuay Studio in 2005. Together, they created ''Rayo de Esperanza/A Beacon of Hope: Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Sculpture''. She made an aluminum sculpture for the Austin Public Library Terrazas Branch. The aluminum plate screen fixture was made in the style of

papel picado Papel picado ("perforated paper," "pecked paper") is a traditional Mexican decorative craft made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper. Papel picado is considered a Mexican folk art. The designs are commonly cut from as many ...

Exhibitions

* ''¡Arte Caliente! Selections from the Joe A. Diaz Collection.'' March 26, 2006 – June 11, 2006.

San Jose Museum of Art The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum in downtown San Jose, downtown San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 1969, the museum holds a permanent collection with an emphasis on West Coast of the United Sta ...

. * ''No Absolutes: Contemporary Art from the Region.'' October 8, 2000 - January 7, 2001.

Arizona State University Art Museum The Arizona State University Art Museum is an art museum operated by Arizona State University, located on its main campus in Tempe, Arizona. The Art Museum has some 12,000 objects in its permanent collection and describes its primary focuses as c ...

, Tempe, AZ.

Collections

Polk Museum of Art The Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College is a private, non-profit, and nationally accredited art museum in Lakeland, Florida. It is a member of the Florida Association of Museums, is ranked among the top art museums in the state of Flori ...

Art Museum of South Texas The Art Museum of South Texas, located in Corpus Christi, Texas, is an art museum which was established in 1936. History In 1936, the Centennial Museum was opened by the city of Corpus Christi. The museum was then given to two art organizations ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arismendi, Connie 1955 births Living people 20th-century American women sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American women sculptors 21st-century American sculptors American people of Mexican descent Artists from Corpus Christi, Texas School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Sculptors from Texas University of Texas at Austin alumni