week 3 - artist: Julie Zarate

 

Zarate was born in 1970 in huston texas. Her artworks are centered around pop culture and women empowerment. She also states that for her the process of making works is more important than the final product. She is interested in investigating new topics through different mediums and styles. 

Her paintings and drawings are often of womens faces. And while the style of her works changes many of them use bold colors and intricate line work. Many of her works also use flowers, detailed patterns and halos of light. The detailed patterns seem to reference a lot of textile arts, some patterns are more similar to ones which you might find in embroidered latina clothing styles. As well as sort of gives an acknowledgement to other types of art which women are often expected to fo (embroidery, textile creation) in a new light as oil and acrylic paintings. The halos she uses also reference old religious artworks, where gold plates are used behind figures to show  whollyness. And is also often used when depicting la virgen guatalupe. And many of the women she paints draws on the iconography of la virgen as an iconic women figure in art and culture. 

She has had her works in a variety of art shows, one including las chingonas which she and two other artists put together. This show highlights mexican women, one that looks at representations of women, and independence. This is relevant to most of her works and the way that even when portraying sadness the women are always depicted as strong. The subject is always looking the viewer in the eye.