Paula Cortazar
WORK
My work is mainly based on the search of drawings in nature. Through observation, I find a graphic language that is constantly repeated; whether in a stone, on the wrinkled surface of a piece of paper, or hidden on some other kind of surface. Drawing is the tool that allows me to show and interpret the hidden graphic code in elements such as a tree or a river. This repetition of lines, for me, is the proof that every element that surrounds us forms part of a whole. In this way, drawing works as a personal translation of a much more complex language. The relationship between such opposite elements like paper or stone is revealed through drawing, suggesting the notion that – materially– we all belong to one same origin and we all carry the same energy.
BIO
BORN IN 1991 IN MONTERREY, MEXICO
LIVES AND WORKS IN MONTERREY
She was born in July 21, 1991 in Monterrey, Nuevo León. In 2014 she graduated with honors from theUniversity of Monterrey’s BA in fine arts. In 2012 she studied in the Lyon Superior National School of Fine Arts in France. In 2013 she was selected to participate in the Contemporary Photography Program (PFC), an educational project of the Nuevo León photography library.
She had solo shows in 2015 and 2017 at Machete Galería in Mexico City. Her work has also been part of many group shows, such as the first edition of United Mexican Projects [Proyectos Unidos Mexicanos](2015) in Brooklyn, New York, To the encounter with the sensitive [Al encuentro con lo sensible] (2015) in the Monterrey Museum of Contemporary Art, Other(s) Drawing(s) [Otro(s) Dibujo(s)] (2014) in the Nuevo León Picture Gallery, PFC’13 (2014) in the Center of the Arts, among others.
Her work was selected to participate in the contest Paper / Support [Soporte / Papel], 2015 BernardoElisúa Farías Award. She has been honored with several awards, the most notable ones being the 2015 – 2016 Young Creators Grant, the first prize of the 5th Photography Contest (2013) organized by the University of Monterrey library, and a honorable mention in the exhibition No Category [Sin Categoría](2012), awarded by the San Pedro House of Culture. She participated in 2018 in two group exhibitions,Register 05 at MARCO (Contemporary Art Museum of Monterrey) and One In a Million in Gallery Nosco, Marseille.
Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey and Fundación Alumnos 47 collection in Mexico, as well as in the Schöpflin Stiftung collection in Germany.