A B O U T
In my studio work I take a pair of scissors to paper and plastic, cutting them into abstract shapes and forms to create cut-outs and silhouettes.
The plastic becomes transparencies, made from acetate sheets, and printed with images that I photograph of city parks where I live. The papers I use are card stock and long sheets of kraft paper and the process of cutting both paper and plastic transcends the material I happen to be using. Whether I am working large or small, the process of cutting becomes a meditation.
The cut-out series has become a meditative exercise wherein I cut away the worry and concern of daily life to expose what is essential. The busy world outside my studio falls away as I listen to a favorite radio program and I pin a long sheet of kraft paper to the wall with clear push pins. As I return to the studio, a large wall installation can take a few days or a few weeks to complete.
As you can tell from the state of my studio floor which is covered in layers of oval and triangle bits of plastic and paper that fall from my work table, this series has been ongoing for some years. I have made use of recycled and repurposed paper that is available when life outside my studio practice take precedence and my time and resources are limited. It is a departure from the photo based 'untitled transparencies' series that until recently, made up the bulk of my studio work. And certainly it is different from the images I create as a commercial photographer, capturing images of architectural interiors and artwork exhibited in galleries, museums and artist studios.
A R T W O R K
Gina Fuentes Walker creates photo and paper installations in her studio, using available light and translucent materials such as glass, Plexiglas, color transparencies and less translucent card stock and kraft paper. Images of trees and landscapes are printed on transparencies, light filters through the material to create another layer or image on the studio wall that resembles abstract patterns and silhouettes of the natural world. In 2012 this series of transparency cut-outs expanded to include cut printed and plain papers as a new medium for installation. These paper cut-outs started with a series of artist books she produced for the annual MasqueLibros Artist Book Fairs in Madrid. A collaboration in 2013 with clothing designer Babatunde Ajiboye resulted in the printing of a series of her cut-outs onto fabric for a commission of men and women's wear for the annual Chashama Gala in New York. Group and solo exhibitions of her studio work include gallery and site-specific installations in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Italy and Germany. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Smithsonian Institution, Chashama and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. From 2007-2015 and 2019-21 she was a resident artist at Chashama Studios in New York. Fuentes Walker lives and works in New York City.
P H O T O W O R K
Fuentes Walker's graduate studies in cultural anthropology and documentary media influences her photo essays of recent rallies and public events as well as her photographs of museum and gallery exhibition designs, architectural interiors, museum and private collections. Her client list includes the Smithsonian Institution, The New-York Historical Society, The American Bible Society, The Museum of Biblical Art, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, Chashama, Asia Society, Cathy Graham Studio, Reuben Sinha Studio and Noreen Dresser Studio. She has photographed solo projects and public art installations including a site-specific work created for the Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters in New Jersey.
C U R A T O R I A L
Her independent and collaborative curatorial projects are focused on exhibiting the work of contemporary artists based in New York. In 2005 she co-founded artHARLEM, a core group of volunteer artists, curators and gallerists that produced a seven year series of exhibitions and open studios programming. They include EAST x WEST x HARLEM, co-curated by Gina Fuentes Walker and Norma Marquez Orozco. This exhibition was a co-production of artHARLEM and Floor4Art, featuring a mixed media exhibition of artists who live and work in the Harlem neighborhood. Her time with artHARLEM has segued into collaborations with the National Conference of Artists, En Foco and with the Bronx Council on the Arts as a juror for the BRIO awards and teaching a DIY workshop sponsored by the Joan Mitchell Foundation on how to inventory, document and preserve the legacies of senior artists. She is a board member of Parlour 153, a Harlem based artist salon.
V O I C E A C T O R
Gina has trained in voiceover at the School of Visual Arts and with Valerie Smaldone. Clients include the American Academy of Pediatrics, ArchCare - Catholic Heath Care System, Kognito - Health Simulation Company and PSA3. She has recorded projects at Sonic Union studios and her home studio. Demos on VOICES.COM
In my studio work I take a pair of scissors to paper and plastic, cutting them into abstract shapes and forms to create cut-outs and silhouettes.
The plastic becomes transparencies, made from acetate sheets, and printed with images that I photograph of city parks where I live. The papers I use are card stock and long sheets of kraft paper and the process of cutting both paper and plastic transcends the material I happen to be using. Whether I am working large or small, the process of cutting becomes a meditation.
The cut-out series has become a meditative exercise wherein I cut away the worry and concern of daily life to expose what is essential. The busy world outside my studio falls away as I listen to a favorite radio program and I pin a long sheet of kraft paper to the wall with clear push pins. As I return to the studio, a large wall installation can take a few days or a few weeks to complete.
As you can tell from the state of my studio floor which is covered in layers of oval and triangle bits of plastic and paper that fall from my work table, this series has been ongoing for some years. I have made use of recycled and repurposed paper that is available when life outside my studio practice take precedence and my time and resources are limited. It is a departure from the photo based 'untitled transparencies' series that until recently, made up the bulk of my studio work. And certainly it is different from the images I create as a commercial photographer, capturing images of architectural interiors and artwork exhibited in galleries, museums and artist studios.
A R T W O R K
Gina Fuentes Walker creates photo and paper installations in her studio, using available light and translucent materials such as glass, Plexiglas, color transparencies and less translucent card stock and kraft paper. Images of trees and landscapes are printed on transparencies, light filters through the material to create another layer or image on the studio wall that resembles abstract patterns and silhouettes of the natural world. In 2012 this series of transparency cut-outs expanded to include cut printed and plain papers as a new medium for installation. These paper cut-outs started with a series of artist books she produced for the annual MasqueLibros Artist Book Fairs in Madrid. A collaboration in 2013 with clothing designer Babatunde Ajiboye resulted in the printing of a series of her cut-outs onto fabric for a commission of men and women's wear for the annual Chashama Gala in New York. Group and solo exhibitions of her studio work include gallery and site-specific installations in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Italy and Germany. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Smithsonian Institution, Chashama and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. From 2007-2015 and 2019-21 she was a resident artist at Chashama Studios in New York. Fuentes Walker lives and works in New York City.
P H O T O W O R K
Fuentes Walker's graduate studies in cultural anthropology and documentary media influences her photo essays of recent rallies and public events as well as her photographs of museum and gallery exhibition designs, architectural interiors, museum and private collections. Her client list includes the Smithsonian Institution, The New-York Historical Society, The American Bible Society, The Museum of Biblical Art, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, Chashama, Asia Society, Cathy Graham Studio, Reuben Sinha Studio and Noreen Dresser Studio. She has photographed solo projects and public art installations including a site-specific work created for the Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters in New Jersey.
C U R A T O R I A L
Her independent and collaborative curatorial projects are focused on exhibiting the work of contemporary artists based in New York. In 2005 she co-founded artHARLEM, a core group of volunteer artists, curators and gallerists that produced a seven year series of exhibitions and open studios programming. They include EAST x WEST x HARLEM, co-curated by Gina Fuentes Walker and Norma Marquez Orozco. This exhibition was a co-production of artHARLEM and Floor4Art, featuring a mixed media exhibition of artists who live and work in the Harlem neighborhood. Her time with artHARLEM has segued into collaborations with the National Conference of Artists, En Foco and with the Bronx Council on the Arts as a juror for the BRIO awards and teaching a DIY workshop sponsored by the Joan Mitchell Foundation on how to inventory, document and preserve the legacies of senior artists. She is a board member of Parlour 153, a Harlem based artist salon.
V O I C E A C T O R
Gina has trained in voiceover at the School of Visual Arts and with Valerie Smaldone. Clients include the American Academy of Pediatrics, ArchCare - Catholic Heath Care System, Kognito - Health Simulation Company and PSA3. She has recorded projects at Sonic Union studios and her home studio. Demos on VOICES.COM
