About Aimeé
“According to Mexican tradition, people die three deaths: The first death is when our bodies cease to function, when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning. The second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight. The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us…”
My whole life I’ve been inspired by death and Dia de Los Muertos. My mother was an intaglio print maker who focused on skeletons and morbidity in her work and I was raised with a breakfront filled not with china plates but with Calacas. I have always been fascinated with all of the tiny deaths in the life of a human being. Using fabric to create characters that are in fact very alive but at the same time skeletal and other worldly, helps me process my inner thoughts on existentialism and spirituality. My concepts come to me through a day dream like state, and then through sketching my concept, researching technique, color and design, I compose and execute the piece. If there is a technique I’m not familiar with then I teach myself.
As a young artist, I was fortunate to be involved with some of the top visual and performing arts educational foundations in the northeastern United States. At the age of 3 I began by spending Wednesday nights at SUNY Purchase, developing my amateur drawing and painting skills beside my mother as she worked on her prints. By the time I was 15, I was competent in 10 mediums, but printmaking and costume design were my predominate modes of expression. Later in life, the printmaking has given way to acrylic on canvas and other found objects, but costume design has been a consistent element in my expressive nature.
I have a vision, of artists young and old, gathering together, creating community and evolving society’s perspective on the arts and death. I long to change the belief that art is a luxury or extra, and instead is a necessity for human existence. I have spent many hours teaching others and organizing large cultural events, instead of hidden in a studio, with my intention to build something world changing. I hope that the viewers of my art take a moment to look deeper at their life and their own mortality, and perhaps are driven to create something, as an expression of being alive.
As a member of the Modern Interdisciplinary Art movement, I believe that there are no boundaries to express oneself and I utilize both traditional and non-traditional mediums. Near future projects include a large environmental installation with a team of very talented creatives and a focus on public art in the Pinellas County area. I want to draw my audience in, allow them to touch, smell, taste, feel and see through my perception. Most importantly, I want them to consider all of the aspects of life, especially death.
“Life is but a dream for the dead.” ― Gerard Way
Curriculum Vitae
Exhibitions
2013 Day of the Dead Offrenda Exibit, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2014 Synathesia, Unity88, Oakland Park, FL (monthly)
2015 CACO Show, Dream Lounge, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2015 Shots, Art Basel, Wynwood, FL
2016 Misc Art Instillations, Zen Awakening, Wildwood, FL
2017 WallBrawl Broward, Makers Square, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2017 Art Instillation, Love Burn, Miami, FL
2017 Misc Art Instillations, Zen Awakening, Wildwood, FL
2018 Art Instillation, Love Burn, Miami, FL
2018 Interactive Art Project, Dirty Bird, St. Cloud, FL
2018 Interactive Art Project, Hullaween, Live Oak, FL
2019 Art Installation, Love Burn Miami, FL
Bibliography
-Jim Hall, Primitive Jim, Photography Blog November 2nd 2013
-No Author, Celebrating Florida Day of the Dead 2015 in Fort Lauderdale, Broward/Palm Beach New Times, November 4th 2015
-Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley, Celebrating Day of the Dead in Fort Lauderdale, Miami Herald, October 30th 2015
-Featured on MTV Latin America, Florida Day of the Dead, October 2015
-Larry Bleiberg, 10 Great Day of the Dead celebrations, USA Today, October 28th 2016
-Ryan Yousefi, Day of the Dead Florida Hits Fort Lauderdale, Broward/Palm Beach New Times, October 25th 2016
-Various Photographers, Florida Day of the Dead/Photos, Sun Sentinal, November 2nd 2017
Collections
Private collection, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Private collection, St.Petersburg, FL
Teaching
2012-2016 Paper Mache, Puppet Network
2013-2015 Costume Design, Makers Square
Curatorial Projects
-2014 CACO Art Show, Fort Lauderdale, FL
-2015 Florida Day of the Dead Costume Runway Show, Fort Lauderdale, FL
-2015 WallBrawl Broward, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Awards and Grants
-2012 Grand Prize Florida Day of the Dead Costume Competition
-2013 Knights Arts Challenge
-2018 CO.STARTERS
Residencies
-2013 The Arts Bunker
-2014 Unity88
-2015 Broward Arts Club