Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Madrigal.
Amanda, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I’m a contemporary fiber artist based in Miami, Florida. I began studying art at the prestigious New World School of the Arts High School. Upon graduation, I received numerous merit-based scholarships, such as the Presidential, Thalheimer, and YoungArts awards to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from MICA in the spring of 2013 with a major in fiber arts. Along with becoming an arts educator, I have been making my work ever since, and continue to exhibit my artwork across the United States as well as internationally.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I make soft sculptures and mixed media installations using repurposed materials sourced from local Miami thrifting, gravitating towards colors and patterns that catch my eye. When I touch an old bed sheet or a pair of pants, I feel like I’m being transported into someone else’s life. These objects act as portals through time and space, and I begin to wonder about the growth, and change that occurs through a period of time. I love that these things hold history within them and were once valuable to someone, yet are later discarded and forgotten. As an artist, my goal is to re-imagine a new space for them to exist, to transform these materials in order to create a new reality for them. I play with your old sweaters and turn them into tactile imaginary friends or metaphors for childhood and human development. As I work relentlessly to celebrate and re-stitch the fabric of our past, I reflect on the relationships we have with each other, nature, architecture, and time. I am interested in exploring the mind-body connection and utilize repetitive and labor-intensive techniques to play with ideas about how materiality and time relate to the human experience. I continually aim to question the dichotomy between physical and imagined space as my works situate themselves as natural yet distorted fragments of reality, interacting with their environment in unexpected ways.
My process is greatly influenced by the fact that my mother used her fashion degree to become a stay at home mom who made all of my clothes; she really had a way of turning nothing into something. She raised my sister and I, in a way where we knew that anything is possible, and despite barely affording the rent, all the resources were here for us. Being resourceful meant making our own salt and flour play dough from scratch, knitting our own blankets, and creating elaborate cardboard houses for my stuffed animals to live in. I use objects of comfort and play to convey nostalgia in my work because I believe that as we get back in touch with that which brings us joy, our inner-child emerges and we are whole.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
I believe now is the best time to be an artist! There are so many new opportunities, and the arts community has been stronger than ever. We are being immersed with more art and culture than ever before, and I believe that creativity is becoming valued more and more each day. I also think that things are becoming less institutionalized, times are changing, and as artists, we change with it to create new ways of doing things. I’m so grateful to watch the creative community grow in Miami and to continue to grow with it.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I am planning on putting together a DIY Solo exhibition of my work in the near future – hopefully, this September. More information about that will be available on my artist website and social media pages. I also have an online store where people can purchase work from my wearable collections!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.amandamadrigal.com
- Phone: 305-775-3536
- Email: info@amandamadrigal.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginaryfriendsart/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Amanda Madrigal
Herman Schumacher
Jovan Villalba
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