Valentina Peroza

Artist portfolio

Valentina Peroza

Biography

Born in Venezuela and raised in Minnesota from the age of two, Valentina Peroza grew up as an outgoing child navigating the challenges of being different in a new culture. As an immigrant, making friends wasn’t always easy, which led her to find comfort and joy in solitude—drawing, crafting, and creating. She has always had a love for art ever since she was a kid, as it’s been the only thing that she found that she resonated with. Art became a powerful form of self-expression and connection, both with herself and others. She was able to express herself and her feelings with her art in ways she couldn’t put into words before. Most of the time, regardless of what feeling she was trying to express, the paintings stayed colorful. Through dedication and curiosity, she refined her techniques over the years, growing more in touch with both her creativity and emotions.
She has worked hard learning new techniques throughout her schooling and has gotten more in touch with her creativity and feelings. Her art makes her feel very free—she would describe it as soft, whimsical, and flowing with energy. She specializes in ceramics, drawing, and painting, though she also explores music and jewelry-making. She always likes to try new forms of art because she never knows what she’s going to fall in love with. While she considers herself primarily a painter, her work spans many forms. Whether through landscapes, self-portraits, or surrealist compositions, her work reflects a deeply personal narrative. For her, art is more than a practice; it's a lifelong language of feeling and self-expression. In short, she has been able to put her feelings into her art—whether it be a painting or a sculpture—and it has been the way she communicates how she feels for her whole life.

Valentina Peroza

Artist statement for "woven in hue" series

I hate being alone. I have found that I am the most comfortable and true version of myself when I am around the people I care about. The important people in my life help create an environment that is safe for me to express myself–I wouldn’t be who I am without those connections. Human connection is something special that most of us take for granted.In this series of paintings I explore human connection and the ways our emotions and shared experiences intertwine when we connect with one another. I sought to explore connection as I was growing and learning throughout the process of this series. Using multiple painting techniques was something very important to highlight the emotions I wanted to convey, layering different paints much like having many different emotions for different people. Each piece represents a different form of connection, both physical and emotional. I used three different canvases for this series to show different forms of emotional and physical connection. I used the colors red, blue, and purple to keep the energy cohesive and convey different emotions. I wanted to emphasize skin-to-skin contact to illustrate how people are unified through physical connection as opposed to being isolated individuals that results from a lack of connection.How strong can human connection be? How can a connection alter your emotions? I hope you can see a connection you have in your life in one of these pieces. Whether it is a person you crave, love, or need, I hope my artwork inspires you to take the time to connect with someone.

Valentina peroza
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