Artist Statement

My abstract, mixed media series, Stories We Share, explores the delicate relationship between trauma, its aftermath, and the journey of healing. The canvas becomes a metaphor for the body and mind, fractured by emotional or physical wounds.

Each work starts as an oil painting on canvas and is a piece in it’s own right going into this process. These oil abstracts are created using impasto technique to create thick strokes of paint. Once the pieces are dry, the canvas is then partially destroyed. Once torn, the canvas is stitched back together using colored yarn, a process that symbolizes recovery and the complexities of mending. It is messy, intricate, and often imperfect, but it allows for a new narrative to emerge.

The act of sewing becomes an acknowledgment of the strength required to heal, to rebuild, and to continue in the face of adversity. Through these acts of “reconstruction,” the pieces embody the interplay between destruction, renewal and creativity. Illustrating that trauma does not simply disappear, but rather becomes integrated into the fabric of our lives.

Andrea Echeverri-Gent