Pola Lopez (born 1954) is a painter and muralist known for her abstract, southwestern-inspired artworks.
Biography
Pola Lopez was born on April 7, 1954 in
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas—West Las Vegas ("Old Town") and East Las Vegas ("New Town" ...
, located in the county of San Miguel.
Lopez had not been taught the standards of art throughout her early life, but instead was inspired to learn on her own and become a
Chicana artist, after a conversation with Samuel Leyba.
Lopez omitted attending college, although she had applied to
New Mexico Highlands University
New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) is a public university in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Founded in 1893, it has satellite campuses in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Farmington and Roswell. NMHU has an average annual enrollment of approximate ...
. Her father, Junio Lopez, was a businessman who accepted her choice, so long as she could run her own small business in a small building he loaned to her.
Successfully doing so by selling art supplies in her store and gallery, ''De Colores'', Lopez continued her journey as an artist, learning different mediums of art through a sales representative, and eventually displaying her own work in front of her store. When displaying her work, artists Wilbert Miera and Star Tapia from ''La Cofradia de Artes y Artesanos Hispanos'' (a collective created by
Luis Tapia), noticed her work and invited her to join their collective in
Santa Fe.
Since then, Lopez has moved to
Highland Park in Los Angeles where she held a public studio space between 2009 and 2016.
Some key highlights of career since have been to be honored as the first female featured artist in the Santa Fe Springs Artfest of California in 2017, be appointed a lead artist in the same year of the Daniel Cervantes
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
restoration project (located at the Southwest Museum in Highland Park), and designed seven banners for La Casa of
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
to be used in
Latinx Heritage month in 2019.
Art
* ''La Chola y Coalticue'' (2018)
Made in 2018, acrylic on canvas (36x48”). This painting features the stereotypical “chola,” leaning against a statue of Coatlicue. This exhibits the feminist style of chola women who remain connected to the roots they emerged from.
* ''Who Wins This Game?'' (1991)
Made in 1991, acrylic on canvas with mixed media (40x40”). Represents different identities, beneath a tic tac toe game, as if to represent which identity best suits the artist.
* USC Latinx Heritage Month Banners (2019)
Designed in 2019, 7 designs, acrylic on canvas (each, 24x24”). Featured heritage and background stories of USC, La Casa, Latinx students. Designed for the main pathway of USC Campus, Trousdale Parkway, to be displayed for Latinx Heritage Month (Sept 15-Oct 15).
References
External links
* http://www.polalopez.com
* Southwest Contemporary - https://southwestcontemporary.com/que-chola/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Pola
1954 births
Living people
20th-century American women painters
21st-century American women painters
American muralists
Artists from New Mexico
People from Las Vegas, New Mexico
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