Today we’d like to introduce you to Vig Mayol.
Vig, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started painting when I was around 15 years old. I was living in Argentina with my family then. I became obsessed with art; all I could think or do was Art related. I never stopped obsessing. I studied art at Buenos Aires Art University UNA. I sold my first paintings when I was still in high school, first in restaurants, then at Art Fairs, and finally through art galleries. Almost a decade ago, I moved with my husband to the US. In my studio, surrounded by nature I found my new home. Each one of my three kids where my little roots on this country. These last years I had been focusing on developing my own language, spending my whole days in the studio creating and searching. Apart from the studio practice, I enjoyed teaching very much. I taught workshops at different art centers such as Art Center Sarasota, Art Center Manatee, and the Vero Beach Art Club, and a short but enriching experience at the Ringling College of Art and Design in the Continuing Studies area. Covid interrupted my teaching though.
Well, I am still walking this road barefoot. Being an artist is itself a difficult journey, especially because there is no specific way to do it, no instructions book. Finding a language that I really own, a language that expresses who I am had been the most challenging part. I feel if the work speaks for itself, if the message is strong then you have half of the journey done. The other half is a completely new story, meeting the right people in the right place is what I had been trying to figure out. As a mother of three, I organize my life to make sure I can spend my days in the studio. In all these years I never stopped painting and I am so grateful for that. Being a mother and an artist is extra hard. I am always trying to find the right balance between my mom life and my artist life.
Women artists had almost no place in art history until not very long ago. I am glad female artists are finally getting the recognition they deserved, the world is changing for good in that matter. So from all the times to be born women artist this one is a good one.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Although I started as a very figurative artist, in the last few years my work became more and more abstract. I am enjoying how much more room for imagination and interpretation abstraction allows. Right now I am working on a serie of abstract natures. On these paintings I approaches nature from a perspective of abundance. Patterns, repetition, excess, and imagination are mantras while I paint. These paintings have their own language, not attached to perspective, there is no sky or horizon on these landscapes. Each painting is like a small ecosystems of rhythm and color.
I paint all sizes, lately I had been exploring large scales. My medium is mixed media, I combine oils, high-flow acrylics, soft pastels, markers, thread, gold leaf, and collage. To me painting is a priceless tool to understand the world that surrounds me, and how I relate to it. Identity is a topic that has become more and more relevant to my work. As an Argentinean artist living in the US for almost a decade now, longing is a feeling I got used to. I found experiencing Nature is an amazing medicine for longing. In nature I always feel at home.
Nature and its perfect ecosystems are beautiful examples of abundance, so rich in species, with their own cycles and purposes. In recent years, human beings have become more aware of how badly we are affecting these ecosystems with our way of life. I hope that this awareness helps in some way to change our lifestyles, to be more in communion with the world we inhabit.What do you think about happiness?
Bonds make me happy, spending time with friends and family. Laughing, sharing a meal, dancing. The view from my studio, watching an old movie on Sundays. Being outside, knowing new places.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vigmayol.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/vigmayol
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/vgmayolart
Image Credits
Pablo Tapia
