Artist • Educator
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work draws from my experience as an inmigrant from Venezuela. I depict abstract forms and figures that are collaged together by intuitively juxtaposing textile materials and stitchery. These textile body iterations conjure feelings of loss and absence, and make something that was, present; while making something that is, absent. I dissect materials to investigate how humans exist in their lived bodies and outside of them. My work questions the perception of the experiences and realities of others as well as my own, the significance of objects in our lives and the meanings they encapsulate overtime.
I work primarily with textiles, found fabrics, discarded garments, paper, thread and other seemingly useless materials and objects. I explore how fabric, garments and our interactions with them can mutate overtime, making our relationships with fabric, clothes and their materiality more relevant rather than transitory and disconnected. At the intersection of material and meaning, my work layers and interweaves narratives of movement, pain, loss and separation.
The use of stitched patterns and repeated mark making parallel the repetition of movement patterns of human beings that is also found in nature’s other creatures. Embroidery and textile work are acts of quiet resistance. Working with fabric and thread allows me to slow down and contrast a world where everything moves at super speed. My recent incorporation of lens based media expands on my inquiry into the depth of being and our relationship to our surroundings.
BIO
Natasha K. De Armas is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and based in New York. Her work delves into the complexities of immigration and displacement. Through the use of found fabrics, materials, and embroidery, she creates textile pieces that evoke longing, memory and place. A graduate of Parsons School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Natasha also holds a Master's in Art Education from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, where she is currently a teaching artist.
Natasha enjoys her time drawing, printmaking, exploring textile arts, and has a deep love for café con leche.
CONTACT: nkorzeniewski@sva.edu
INSTAGRAM: @curious.ms.k
Migration Patterns explores the global movement of human beings. With the ongoing struggles and displacement of people around the world, immigrants resiliently overcome hardship to escape wars, social injustices and humanitarian crises. Drawing inspiration from my own story of immigration, this series reflects on the universal struggles that come with being an immigrant. My work addresses the experiences of immigrants through the use of textiles as a means of expression. These panels are created by using fabric and thread, as a way to layer and interweave narratives of mass movement, pain, loss and separation. The use of stitched patterns and repeated mark making parallel the repetition of migration patterns of human beings that is also found in nature.