A new leader of the rapidly growing ranks of female abstract artists in Southern California, the award winning fine artist Guadulesa has become known for abstract or loosely figurative works of art, which reflect spontaneity, strong rhythm, texture, and color blends.
The visual artist is a Boston native and former resident of the Piano Factory. After studying, she began her art career in Los Angeles, California, where she began to exhibit her work and painted sets for the theatre, television and the film industry. Exhibitions at Ligoa Duncan Gallery in New York City led to her work being sent to Paris in 1981, where she won the prestigious Le Prix de Peinture du Centenaire de Raymond Duncan at L’Academie des Duncan.
Award Winning Artist
Guadulesa’s work is also included in the Massachusetts collections of the Black Indian Inn, the Harriet Tubman Gallery, and The Cambridge Lawyers Guild. Further of her works are also be found in private collections throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico and St. Croix, as well as Israel and Spain. From 1986 through 2003, Guadulesa was an active member of the arts community in Boston, where she headed arts programming at United South End Settlements. In 1991, she received a Drylongso Award from Community Change, Inc., and in 1992, Guadulesa was the recipient of an Individual Project Grant by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. She was appointed to the Boston Cultural Council by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and served in that capacity for six years.
The Use of Sound to Create Art
Guadulesa states that for her, “The artistic process is a meditation.” She states further, “My work, even when portraying something outside of me, is a self-portrait. Sound plays an important role in my approach. Being totally present in the moment allows me to engage the vibrations of sound, which resonate throughout the space, through the body, onto the canvas.”
Matrix 5; Tones of Resonance
The art book Matrix 5: Tones of Resonance, about Ms. Rivera’s study and meditation with the 5 tones used in ancient Cherokee (Tsalagi) Healing Practices, includes images of paintings created through an innovative manipulation of the intersection of these healing sounds and the painting process. The project is scheduled for release this November or December.
Guadulesa Rivera: Several years ago, when I lived in Boston, I was awarded an Individual Artists Grant to create a project involving art and science. I had already begun to paint with musicians in live settings and because of my approach, I was convinced that the sound environment was affecting the drying patterns of the paintings. I had full reason to believe this, because I had studied the work of others who explored the mystery of sound and its effect on the physical body and consciousness. My project was called Matrix 5, because I worked with the five tones used in the Tsalagi (Cherokee) healing practices, in order to experience the transformative powers of sound. I am now writing a book, based on the notes from my project, and I entitle it Matrix 5: Tones of Resonance.
Guadulesa Rivera: I am re-entering a world that is with us all the time, but few are aware of it. The influence of sound on our physical bodies, emotions and consciousness is powerful. To be able to bring this consciousness into my work as an artist is very special to me, and that is an understatement.
The Kickstarter project by Guadulesa has now been funded. Listen to the exclusive interview with Guadulesa discussing here work in the video here below.
View the artists work up close and in person at the Arroyo Art Walk on Sunday, November 24th. For more information on the art walk visit: www.arroyoartscollective.org.
