Gladys Poorte Portfolio
Education
1997 – 2001 University of Texas at Austin, Studio Arts
1996 – 1997 Austin Community College, Studio Arts
1993 – 1994 Carnegie Museum of Art School, Pittsburgh, PA
1985 – 1986 M-Ed. In Adult Education, Penn State University
1978 – 1983 BA Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Exhibitions
2007 Beeville Art Museum, Beeville, TX
2006 Berman Gallery, Austin, TX
2005 D. Berman Gallery, Austin, TX
2003 Studio2 Gallery, Austin, TX
2003 2040 Gallery, Austin, TX
1999 Women Printmakers of Austin Annual Show, Austin, TX
1999 Art in Public Places, Austin, TX
1998 Student Show, University of Texas at Austin
1997 Student Show, Austin Community College – 2nd prize
winner
Bio
Gladys Poorte was born in Cordoba, Argentina. She came to the United States in 1985 to pursue graduate school at the Pennsylvania State University. After marrying a Dutch graduate student, she settled permanently in the USA. When they moved to Austin, Texas, Gladys went back to school to study art. After graduating, she became a full time artist. Although they live in Austin, she and her family keep traveling to South America and Europe to stay in touch with the family members abroad.
Statement
My paintings are populated by the small objects that surround us in every day life: toys, tools, blocks, plastic containers, utensils, caps, etc. These objects are depicted as they look in real life but they also function as characters in a narrative or elements in a landscape. My intention is that they are perceived in both ways: they are seen as what they really are but they are read as members of a small parallel world. This small parallel world echoes our own world. It’s a way of looking at ourselves in the mirror.
I like to paint from life because the color and light effects obtained this way are more complex, subtle and interesting. I work from set-ups built using the afore-mentioned objects, other materials (fabric, cardboard, etc) and lamps to create the intended environment. The process of building the set-ups also allows me to visualize ideas and experiment. I often combine these environments with real skies I’ve photographed. Since I’m representing alternative worlds I often bend reality: the objects may be stacked up in a way that would not stand to gravity or are suspended in the air, sometimes I paint different sections of the painting changing the lighting.
The process is similar to that of children who use toys and other objects to create a story. My characters and stories however, are not imaginary but those of our real world.
Gladys Poorte is represented by the SheehanCorona Gallery in Dallas, Texas
