[Biography] ENGLISH
Lorena Eloizaga
B. 1984, Bogota, Colombia - Lives and works in Barcelona, Spain
Her work is a contemporary reinterpretation of nature in which she combines bright colours and organic shapes to create striking hybrid compositions, which seek to create a fun and festive conversation between the viewer and the artist.
Her work is inspired by the cultural mix that surrounds her, beginning with her childhood and memories in South America growing up with the giant mountains of the Andes, her adult life in Barcelona where she celebrates the eternal blue and pink skies of the Mediterranean; and her constant trips to Asia where the proportion of nature and its immensity left a great impact on her. With her work she celebrates nature, its magic, its beauty, its mysticism and turns it into a personal symbolism, where she wants to immortalize memories.
Lorena Eloizaga studied Illustration at Central Saint Martins (London, UK), Interior Design at the Escola de Arte y Diseny Llotja (Barcelona) and Industrial Design at (Bogota, Colombia). Along with showing her work in various group shows she has had solo exhibitions at W+K Tokyo Japan (2019), Arteuparte (2019) and Miscellanea Gallery Barcelona, Spain (2020).
[Biography]
Early Age:
Lorena Eloizaga grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, a city surrounded by the gigantic mountains of the Andes, sitting at 2,625 meters above sea level. From an early age, these majestic mountains were the first reference point for Lorena to develop her personal style. She would spend her time observing and experiencing them and drawing the organic lines that the landscape provided.
Her first contact with the world of art came thanks to her father, who sold art books and took her and her sister to all the book fairs around Colombia from a very young age. It was at these fairs that she fell in love with all the artists and colours she saw on the covers of all these books. She was so passionate about it that her father covered a barrel next to her bed with posters from the publishers showcasing lots of the art book covers. Due to these she began to learn about, and be influenced by, the great masters Matisse, Miro, Picasso, Magritte, Gauguin, El Bosco, Monet, Georgia O´Keeffe, Warhol and Lichtenstein.
The Eye:
The eye is one of the symbols which is most present in her work. It is a symbol that was etched into her subconscious from a young age due to the cultural mix of her family and the memories that surrounded her.
Her grandfather, of Basque origin, arrived in the city of Bogotá after fleeing the Spanish Civil War. On the wall, In the middle of his living room, he hung a replica of Picassos Guernica, a work that still stands in the same place to this day, as if time had never passed. That image generated intrigue and respect in Lorena from a very young age when she visited her grandparents house. This work a contrast of light and darkc colors with the central light that for her represented an eye stayed in her memory.
At the age of 21, Lorena´s parents left Colombia and moved to Spain due to the political and economic situation in the country. Lorena left the Andes mountains behind and arrived in Barcelona to start a new life. Here she discovered the Mediterranean and could not believe the beauty of the light, the vivid colours and the blues and pinks of the sky and sea, which reminding her of the work of the great masters. She fell in love with the Mediterranean, the gradients of colours that came from it and took influence from this to incorporate it into her work. Her work is a celebration of nature, its magic, its beauty, and its mysticism.
From Mountains To The Sea:
At the age of 21, Lorena´s parents left Colombia and moved to Spain due to the political and economic situation in the country. Lorena left the Andes mountains behind and arrived in Barcelona to start a new life. Here she discovered the Mediterranean and could not believe the beauty of the light, the vivid colours and the blues and pinks of the sky and sea, which reminding her of the work of the great masters. She fell in love with the Mediterranean, the gradients of colours that came from it and took influence from this to incorporate it into her work. Her work is a celebration of nature, its magic, its beauty, and its mysticism.
The Birth of her Work and the Reclamation of Landscape:
In her new life in Barcelona, she felt that she was missing some of the colorful nature of the streets of South America. She therefore began using walls in the city to create colorful and hybrid compositions to reinterpret nature, as if the Mediterranean and the Andes had merged into one. In this way, her style was born, with which she reclaims her origins, her memories, and creates a festive and fun conversation between the viewer and the artist.
Studies & Exhibitions:
Lorena Eloizaga studied Illustration at Central Saint Martins S.C (London, UK) 2008, Interior Design at the Escola de Arte y Diseny Llotja (Barcelona, Spain) 2010 and Industrial Design at (Bogota, Colombia) 2002.
Along with showing her work in various group shows she has had solo exhibitions at Thama Art Space, Chaing Mai, Thailand (2023) W+K Tokyo Japan (2019), Arteuparte, San Sebatian (2019) Miscellanea Gallery Barcelona, Spain (2020).
Email: lorena.eloizaga@gmail.com
Instagram: @eloizaga