alumna catalina viejo
The Art of Catalina Viejo Reprinted with permission and excerpted from JazJaz, July 27, 2011
Artist Catalina Viejo is a bona fide talent, the realization of which became quite clear to me when I took a look at the prodigious amount of terrific art on her site. Her paintings are a riotous explosion of color and joyousness, infused with an effortless sensuality.
Catalina was born in Marbella, Spain, and lived there for the first nine years of her life, before her family moved to the Canary Islands. She is a trained artist, with a BFA in painting from Montserrat College of Art, Massachusetts.
You have lived in various countries from the time you were a child. How did it influence your paintings/artworks?
I grew up in Spain and I went to boarding school in Dublin for 7 years. I then came to the US for my undergrad and have been here since. In between, I have traveled quite a bit. I have been to Morocco several times (my parents live on the Canary Islands, so it’s very accessible). Due to my parents' jobs, I also was able to travel to various parts of Asia. The islands definitely have a huge influence in my paintings, especially the light and the brightness and clear colors. My parents have a large collection of African and Asian objects as well as fossils, which often make their way into my paintings. I love their symbolism, I’m inspired by their patterns and colors.
Your obviously-close ties to your family are highly visible in your works. Can you tell us more about the significance of it?
Most of the figures I portray in my paintings are family and friends. They are the most important people in my life. I like to play a lot between realism and abstraction and also in various media. For example, a letter collage of my mother shows a very different viewpoint of her, than a realistic portrait of her, or a photograph.
Are the images in your photography section digitally manipulated, or do you paint directly on the photographs?
The first few photos I did part of the "breast" series I painted different breasts on glass and then the girls would hold them up. Soon after though I started to get them to do a specific pose and then paint the breasts directly on the photograph. I do the same process in my most recent series of animals.
From left: "Mama’s Mantilla," 38 x 14 inches, mixed media on cut panel; "Blooming Dialogue," a collaboration between Joshua Durant and Viejo, 24 x 24 inches, mixed media on panel
Your plans for the immediate future?
I am currently preparing for a two person show in October at the Gallery at the Piano Factory in Boston which I´m very excited about. After Christmas I’m going to take several months off though and travel to the Middle East and Europe.
Update Catalina teamed up with Joshua Durant to produce the Blooming Dialogue Exhibition at the gallery at the Piano Factory in Boston. The show, on display throughout October, exhibited collaborations as well as their independent work. Catalina showed her figurative paintings and Joshua displayed his expressive bird paintings.
Visit Catalina’s site at
catalinaviejo.com to see more of her art. She also has an Esty store where you can buy prints and original pieces.l
montserrat portfolio 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34