Rising Stars: Meet Brenda Barrios

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Barrios.

Hi Brenda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
And currently, my works consist of paintings and sculptures. Last year as a working artist, I worked with Homeboy Industries with Art Heals to illustrate two of their first children’s books. I have been exploring different mediums in Los Angeles and working as an artist. As an artist and art student, I tried to expand my practice by researching innovative ways of working with materials. Most of my work has consisted of paintings, murals, and illustrations as a working artist. In my current research projects, I am working on sculpture-making and finding ways to bring my paintings into sculptural forms. Sculpture has always been my passion, but as a Latina artist, I never had the privilege to have the resources and materials to explore. The University of California, Los Angeles, has given me access to various machinery such as welding. And I look forward to creating more art, having more artist talks, and sharing my art with others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a first-generation Latina, I’ve struggled with not having resources in the art filed. I knew that education was very important, and even though I had obstacles and challenges, I thrived and got into the number one Art School in the U.S. As an Undergraduate Student, having multiple jobs while going to school is challenging. In 2018 I was diagnosed with and autoimmune that changed my life. And as artist this only inspired me to further pursue my passion in creating art.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My practice as and artist is Sculpture, Illustration, Painting, Performance and Design Media Arts. As a visual artist, I do illustrations on social media and for nonprofit organizations that focuses on topics that impact communities. As a sculpture artist, I do Kinetic sculptures that speak about my disability and educational experience and culture. My Performance consists of original sound and original choreography. My large paintings I use are natural dyes that I’ve created. As and artist I am proud that I constantly research and learn new techniques.

What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is to be authentic and to be true to myself and to continue helping my community and continue creating art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brendabarrios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbbarrios/?hl=en
• Other: https://music.apple.com/us/album/artista/1641150416?i=1641150421

Image Credits
The First Two Photos were taken by Nathaniel Perales, whos a photographer The photos descriptions are me sitting on a stool and me facing my back with a jacket! The art photos were taken by me, Brenda Barrios Sculpture, Painting, illustration