ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I am interested in the concept of space and its representation and the notion of circular time through the inmemorial dilemma between reality and illusion.

My work is a representation of a moment in a space that might sometimes coincide with reality itself.  A reflection on past and present that generates a reality that can only be justified with the sum of all the circumstances which in its day took place: the place and its location, the past action and the perception of the present.  It is a form of materialization of memory.  I play with the duplication of real space, real time and with presence-absence exercises using my own body and taking possession of the space. The result is a self-reflective, mirror-like dimension, a dislocation of time and a superposition of moments.  In my work memory is not passive but a dynamic process of recuperation, reconfiguration and  invention that is provoked by visual devices.

My work is inspired by Literature, Art History and Architecture. My process is driven by gestures, by lines that escape, by fragmented and eventual forms that grow capturing realities, enabling manageable distances and answering them as they are made. Memory copes with present time and at the end comes the realization of multiple happenings that are experimented simultaneously in an instant.

BIO

Carola Bravo is a Miami based artist well known for her immersive video-installations, site-specific installations, urban interventions, and intimate studio artworks that address space, changing territories and their geometry.  Bravo is a Doctorate Candidate for a Ph.D in Architecture from The Central University in Venezuela, from where she also obtained, in 2003, a Master in Art History. She received her BSc in Architecture from the Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts, Philadephia, USA, in 1987, where she was awarded with two important prizes: the “Kenneth Parker Award” and “The Rouse Award”.

 Her work has been exhibited at international art biennales and art fairs, museums, institutions and galleries such as: Panamá South Biennale in Panamá, Florence Contemporary Art Biennale in Italy; Sweden Biennale in Estocolm; Shanghai Art Fair in China, PINTA Art Fair in New York, ARTBO in Bogotá, FIA Caracas, ARTMiami, Wynwood ART Fair, MIA Art Fair and Arteamericas Art Fair in Miami; FROST Museum in Miami; Galería de Arte Nacional, Museo de Bellas Artes and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas, in Venezuela; Zadok Gallery, The Screening Room, Black Square Gallery and Ideobox Art Space in Miami; Soto Gallery in Boston; Fernando Zubillaga and Okyo Galleries in Caracas; Alonso Arte in Bogotá, Wang Fung Gallery in Beijing, China, Braziers International Artists Workshop, London England. 

Among her solo exhibitions are: “Blurred Borders”-FROST Museum-Miami (2015), “Legal Graffiti”-Zadok Gallery-Miami (2014), “We are where we are not”- The Screening Room-Miami (2013), “Registros Intuitivos”-Fernando Zubillaga Gallery-Caracas (2011), “Mapas Mutantes”-Universidad Simón Bolívar-Caracas (2005), “Cartografías Imprecisas"-CELARG- Center for Latinoamerican Studies-Caracas (2005), "Caracas 428"-Caracas’s Goverment Palace (1995).

Bravo has been the recipient of numerous awards both in Venezuela and abroad, including: “Special Recognition”, at the XI National Architecture Biennale in Venezuela, for her public intervention: Estrías Urbanas, Petare. Caracas (2014); “Iacene Award” at the IX National Sculpture Biennale Francisco Narváez in Porlamar Venezuela (2007); “Honorable Mention” at the Venezuelan Exxon Mobil Salon (2003); “Iván Petrovsky Award” at the annual National Visual Arts Salon Michelena-Valencia, Venezuela (2002); In 1999, Bravo was awarded with three important prizes: “Main Prize” at  the annual National Art Contemporary Salon of Aragua, the “Andrés Perez Mujica Award” at the annual National Visual Arts Salon Michelena, both in Venezuela; and the prize  “Lorenzo il Magnífico” at the Biennale Internazionale dell´Arte Contemporanea in Florence Italy.

Bravo has been commissioned by several institutions to design public interventions. In 2011, she did a big boulevard intervention in Petare, one of the most well known “barrios” in Caracas which was awarded in 2014 with a “Special Recognition” at the “XI Venezuelan National Architecture Biennale”.  Additional commissions include: Mural for the “Gibran Park” in 2011, a Mural for the “Pepsi Cola Company” at the Metropolitan University and a memorial piece in 2003 called “Heridas Abiertas” for the Chacao Community, all in Caracas.

 Regarding her activities as an art promoter, she was the co-founder of “La Llama Foundation” in 2001, which is part of “The Triangle Art Trust” organization founded in London, England, an international artist network that promotes dialogue, exchange of ideas within contemporary visual arts in different countries all over the world.  She has provided many art lectures and conferences in museums and art institutions, as well as juried several art contests. Actually she runs “hARTvest project”, a private art venture dedicated to promote public interest in the arts via creative educational strategies.

Regarding her academic activities, Bravo was Chair of the Architecture Carrer,Head of the Art Section and former Titutar Professor, with more that 20 years of  experience at Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, Venezuela.

Her work is included in numerous major private collections as well as permanente collections such as: Miami Dade College, Wang Fung Gallery in Beijing-China; Museum of Contemporary Art Mario Abreu in Maracay and Ateneo of Valencia, both in Venezuela; Mercantil Foundation, ING Bank, Banesco Bank, Chacao Cultural Foundation, Goverment Palace of Caracas, Metropolitan University, Etiqueta Magazine, in Caracas- Venezuela;  Art Nexus Foundation in Bogotá-Colombia.