Didi Garza
Bioconnect Series 1, Pastel, cyanotype on paper, 2016
Bioconnection 2, Pastel, cyanotype on paper, 2016
Bioconnect 3, Pastel, cyanotype on paper, 2016
Bioconnect 4, Pastel, cyanotype on paper, 2016
Bioconnect 5, Pastel, cyanotype on paper, 2016
My work ranges from representational to abstraction while incorporating common parameters such as strong contrasts, e.g., light/shadow, inner/outer space, distortion/reality, and a vivid palette rooted in my Latina heritage. My processes incorporate collage, mixed media, and sculpture. I am currently working on three themes in my art that are inspired by personal aspects of my life:
• Inner Landscape-based on my career and fascination with biomedical sciences, both sculpture (plaster and bronze) and 2-dimentional works on paper focus on organic or biomorphic shapes that allude to an inner human landscape, interconnectedness, and sub-cellular forms and forces.
• Toy Guns-parodies of toy weapons (oil pastel) that are marketed to children and parents. These represent my strong aversion to guns at the most vulnerable level of our society.
• Bicoastal Imagery-small-scale pastel & mixed media abstractions inspired by the water, land, & cityscapes of two coastal regions, San Francisco Bay Area and Houston, TX, where I own residences. I spend most of my life in these cities.
I have been awarded art scholarships, shown in juried exhibitions, group exhibitions, and am a volunteer for community art and healthcare organizations in the SF bay area and in Houston, TX. After maintaining a career in medical laboratory sciences, and attending art school, my part-time career as an artist has now become my primary focus.