ABOUT
BIOGRAPHY
Belén Berdeja (1991) is a visual artist who lives and works in Mexico City.
A graphic designer, she has also trained in photography (Academia de Artes Visuales), art history and fashion design (LdM Academy, Florence, Italy).
In March 2018, she held her first solo show in Carré D’Artistes Gallery. Later that year, she held her second solo show in The Lauren Rooftop, Washington D.C. Some of her most important exhibits include Jazz on the Rocks (Zenith Art and Fashion Gallery, Miami), Mexico in a Blink (San Francisco Mexican Consulate), Sala Ethos (Franz Mayer Museum) and Perspectiva (Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal).
She has worked alongside numerous Mexican and American institutions such as the Mexican Consulate General in San Francisco, Casa Lamm, Snac Expo, Secretaría de Cultura, Secretaría de Movilidad, and Cámara Minera Mexicana.
Her work has been awarded twice by San Francisco´s SNAC Expo for Best Emerging Artist.
She is currently showing her work in Mexico City and Washington, D.C.
STATEMENT
Belén’s work is a never-ending exploration of the very fabric of humanity.
More specifically, it is a search towards understanding concepts such as femininity, gender, sensuality, human emotion and the diverse social constructs around these and many other topics related to the human condition.
By means of intense and somewhat violent brushstrokes, softly detailed eyes, symbolism and organic elements, she intends to build up a dichotomized narrative.
This narrative sheds light on the double-standard conception of femininity in contemporary society; the way beauty canons and cultural doctrines all work together to chisel human beings into fulfilling certain behavioral, psychological, physical, and emotional expectations.
Through inspiration drawn from nature, organic textures, physical forces such as marine currents and moon tides, Belén creates entities that are strongly related to mythological beings - her work is subtly charged with both the innocent and erotic psyche of these sensual beings.
Through the countenance of the portrayed entity – who is both an individual and the universal humane creature – and through the representation of the so-called female fragility, she brings forward the real strength and raw beauty that lies within all humans.
“There is a continuous struggle inside my paintings; a battle between beauty and ugliness, tenderness and strength, passiveness and vigor. Because that is what humanity is about; a constant cycle of change and opposing forces balancing each other out.
I celebrate the intrinsic value and beauty of people all around the world”.
©Ana Berdeja