Artist Spotlight: Asandra

Name: Asandra

City: Aventura

Birthplace: New York

Artistic Medium: Acrylic on canvas or paper

How did you get started?
I have been painting as far back as I can remember—probably as early as kindergarten. When I was 12 years old, my mother arranged for me to be a part of a small painting class that met on Saturdays in Long Island, New York. I continued to do this for four years, and then went on to Parsons School of design in New York City.

Who or what are your influences?
I absolutely love color. I consider Henri Matisse to be my ‘Art God.’ My other influences are Elizabeth Murray, whose work encouraged me to experiment with shaped canvases for a while. I also like the spiritual expressionism of Mimmo Palladino and Jean Michel Basquiat.

What inspires your work?
Form in general, as seen through symbols and patterns.

How does Miami/South Florida influence your work?
When I first moved here, my paintings were mostly of a gray palette. The magnificent sunshine of South Florida compelled me to face my fear of color. I began to explore a rich array of illuminated colors. Most people who know me as an artist associate my work with bright color. I still occasionally work with a monochromatic, gray palette, and always use a little bit of gray in each painting as a way of creating balance.

How would you describe your work?
I want my art to touch the soul. My personal inspiration as an artist is influenced by all cultures and epochs with the evocation of spirit the desired aim. The paintings employ mixed media on either high-quality printing paper or canvas. Representational and abstract symbols stamped, drawn, or collaged, coexist with balanced design elements to create an overall visual harmony. Bold geometries suggest an archetypal non-verbal language. As art is considered to be subjective, so too is the capacity to translate a symbolic language such as that experienced in dreams. In other words, we innately understand its meaning without having to be literal. Each painting can be experienced for both its surface beauty as well as being a visual meditation reflecting larger, abstract realities.

What has been the most unusual reaction to your work from the public?
I was doing a series of paintings based upon goddess mythology, and had one of these paintings of a nude female form displayed in the window of my studio on Lincoln Road. There was a knock on my door. When I opened it, standing there was a conservative-looking, elderly, white-haired, Midwestern woman. I couldn't imagine what she wanted, and was afraid that she was offended by the imagery. When I greeted her, she said, excitedly, "My friends and I have a goddess group!" It turned out that she was absolutely thrilled to see this kind of imagery.

What would you like to achieve as an artist?
Representation in Japan. I think my work might be appreciated there.

Upcoming shows:
I am currently at work on a book about spirit guides, that will be published by Schiffer in Spring 2011. It will include some illustrations by me as well. I am also creating a series of Divination Cards with illustrations.

Where is your work available?
In the book, Miami Contemporary Artists (Schiffer 2007) and online at www.Asandra.com.

If you are an artist and would like to be a part of Artist Spotlight, contact Mary Damiano at miamiartzine@gmail.com