Artist Bio
Juliana Penna (she/they) is a Brazilian artist from Houston. Their main ways of creating include illustration and sculptural painting. Recurring themes in her art include portals, retrofuturism and vintage design, absurdity and dreams, and escapism. She has a BFA in Studio Art from UT Austin. She has been involved in multiple art-related jobs and organizations at UT, including Texas Performing Arts, The Daily Texan, and Texas Creative Union Project.
Artist Statement
I create portals using painting, illustration, and design incorporating various mediums including, wood, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, pencils, fabric, and clay. The process and outcome of making these portals serve as a form of escapism or teleportation where I create a window to a new environment as a response to my physical and emotional present. I make art as my form of reaction and documentation. The work functions as me revealing different corners of my mind. I am inspired by personal symbols, memories, and other people's stories, whether real or fictional. I often take from childhood motifs and incorporate symbols from Brasil, where I am from, to add to the personal artistic language I am developing through my work. I select a specific palette, limiting the colors to establish the climate for each space that I make. I primarily choose one bright, saturated color, and 2 deeper and muddier colors to work from. I enjoy making two-dimensional work with three-dimensional accents in which the work can exceed the surface as a sculpture or until it becomes decorative furniture. I often work in series that function together as a literal set living in an interior space. I act on an abstract feeling or narrative but implement a loose structure, be it architectural or figurative, to ground my art. These structures are typically based on formal design, often from mid-century interior design and fashion. I create out of compulsion, thinking about the absurdity of modern life, the logic and imagery in dreams, and the specificity of vintage design.
Juliana Penna (she/they) is a Brazilian artist from Houston. Their main ways of creating include illustration and sculptural painting. Recurring themes in her art include portals, retrofuturism and vintage design, absurdity and dreams, and escapism. She has a BFA in Studio Art from UT Austin. She has been involved in multiple art-related jobs and organizations at UT, including Texas Performing Arts, The Daily Texan, and Texas Creative Union Project.
Artist Statement
I create portals using painting, illustration, and design incorporating various mediums including, wood, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, pencils, fabric, and clay. The process and outcome of making these portals serve as a form of escapism or teleportation where I create a window to a new environment as a response to my physical and emotional present. I make art as my form of reaction and documentation. The work functions as me revealing different corners of my mind. I am inspired by personal symbols, memories, and other people's stories, whether real or fictional. I often take from childhood motifs and incorporate symbols from Brasil, where I am from, to add to the personal artistic language I am developing through my work. I select a specific palette, limiting the colors to establish the climate for each space that I make. I primarily choose one bright, saturated color, and 2 deeper and muddier colors to work from. I enjoy making two-dimensional work with three-dimensional accents in which the work can exceed the surface as a sculpture or until it becomes decorative furniture. I often work in series that function together as a literal set living in an interior space. I act on an abstract feeling or narrative but implement a loose structure, be it architectural or figurative, to ground my art. These structures are typically based on formal design, often from mid-century interior design and fashion. I create out of compulsion, thinking about the absurdity of modern life, the logic and imagery in dreams, and the specificity of vintage design.