Patricia Schnall Gutierrez

Patricia Schnall Gutierrez (b. Buffalo, New York) received her BFA from SUNY Buffalo in 1978. After moving to New York City in 1980, she continued her education at the New York Studio School. She co-founded RPM Projects, dedicated to multi-sensory female experiences since 2011 as a collaborative venture with filmmaker, Rhonda Mitrani, and photographer, Marina Font. Best known for large-scale multimedia installations and short films, the project supports each artist independently and collaboratively. She has been included in exhibitions in MOCA Miami, Naples Museum of Art, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Museum of Florida Art, Lowe Art Museum, The Margulies Collection, Appleton Museum, Lowe Art Museum, YAA Museum, Patterson Museum, Burchfield Penney Art Center, MADA New Media, as well as numerous University Exhibitions, Art Fairs, and Galleries in and outside of the United States. Schnall Gutierrez has received numerous artist achievement awards and fellowships over the years and has also been included in private and online auctions. Schnall Gutierrez currently lives and works in South Florida.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Capturing the essence of being female through a prism of intrigue, humor, and absurdity, I offer a fresh perspective on the narratives that shape women’s lives. I believe that we have been fractured throughout eras in media and art history, an oversimplification of women that is mere misrepresentation. I navigate the illusion between past and present, creating a contemporary chronicle of life interwoven with memories of joy, sorrow, growth, and introspection. These emotions need not be simplified, they occur as simultaneous phenomena in individuals' lives. Themes of identity, feminine roles, childrearing, and aging are used as threads in the tapestry of my own experiences.

My feminine-based approach to viewing and describing the world extends beyond drawing and painting to include sculpture, installation, performance, and film. Drawing and painting are intentionally calculated, while my sculptures and installations are freely associative of what it means to be feminine. Performance and film poetically capture collective female consciousness, recording the stories of myself and women in my community. My experimental approach to layering materials and objects draws viewers into deliberate dialogues that probe questions about gender and sexuality. In my world, I transform the mundane into the extraordinary, infusing the every day with unexpected twists. My multidisciplinary approach enables me to consider the relationship of material, process, and outcome. My selection of mediums and methods, both used independently and combined, translate into questions and reflections on the diverse facets of being female in a world that is nuanced with challenges. In this large body of work, I address the need for society to honor women fiercely for their many roles.

Bio and statement courtesy of the artist