Interviews and Reviews

Keisha Lopez is an artist who brings a breath of fresh air to the current art scene. Her artworks contain strong messages related to her difficult and formative life experience. Having experienced poverty and racism, she tries to bring her cultural and ethnic identity to light in her art through compositions rich in colours, shapes and lines. She conveys pure emotions to the viewer as Keisha draws on her personal experience, making choices in both colour and technique that belong to her, that she feels are her own. In her work “Meet (Me) at the Grand Canyon” all her artistic gestures and great creativity come through. It is a diptych made up of two canvases in close relation to each other. Two canvases that constitute a sort of story. Both feature the same colours and colour combinations. Keisha plays with the contrasts between warm and cold colours, evoking a suggestive atmosphere, a kind of abstract landscape. The bright, intense colours are reminiscent of Mexican mural painting. The artist moves with agility on the canvas, her brushstrokes are soft, sinuous and gestural. In some places the colour is left to drip, in other places there are very fine and delicate lines, in other places the lines become thicker, more energetic and nervous. This creates a chaos of emotions, of conflicting feelings that cannot be controlled. A chaos of insurmountable obstacles, of goals, of truths. In both artworks there is a sort of gap, as if the artist wanted to draw the horizon, a division between heaven and earth. The upper part is therefore more nuanced, softer and the colours are lighter and softer. The lower part, on the other hand, is made up of a tangle of different lines. The canvas on the right is distinguished by the presence of this red and yellow element, characterized by warm colours that emphasize passion, strength and energy. Keisha develops themes in her artworks that often refer to her cultural identity and are reflected in her stylistic choices, as in this case. She creates a kind of therapeutic work where the colours and their colour combinations bring out positive emotions of well-being in the heart and soul of the viewer. Keisha’s art contains important messages that she does not express in words but through her great ability to mix colours and shapes to create harmonious and intense works. Her art generates a real inner whirlwind in the viewer. Her desire to express herself, to tell the world what she thinks, to denounce difficult situations that are still put aside nowadays, shines through. Keisha is a spokesperson for problems such as the suppression of cultural and ethnic identity and the difficulties of being a woman today. This is why her artworks are so strong and impactful, because they contain strong messages that cannot and must not be ignored. Art is her means of expressing them and bringing them to light.

 “When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.” (Charles Evans Hughes)

Art Curator Ilaria Falchetti

Keisha Lopez is an artist based in Nashville, TN. The process of making art is therapeutic for Keisha – she has been able to self-heal through her art, and since then, her art continues to serve this purpose. Her main focus is on the collective experience of women, while her current focus is on rediscovering her Latin roots through abstract expressionism. She is currently studying for a Masters in Art Therapy and talks to us about her latest series “Red, Flesh and Blues”.

When did you start your art practice?

I have used my creativity as an outlet my whole life. I started taking my art seriously around 2013 when I transitioned from Biology Major to Painting and Psychology. Amidst my studies, I developed Leukemia and it completely solidified my need/drive to create as a method of self-healing, growth, as well as illuminated my purpose and identity.

How do you describe your vision for your work?

I create very fluidly and have an organic process. It constantly evolves beside me, and often times ahead of me. I experiment and challenge myself and allow my body of work to reveal its vision to me. It’s a delicate balance of being direct with my intentions and mark-making, but allowing myself to not be too constrained by a planned result. I see my art practice as a lifelong pursuit to heal my mind and body with it. In turn, a vision for my work is to spread my overcoming of chaos, loss of control, and regaining of balance through my abstract methods of creation. I hope to help women feel seen and heard and to overcome trauma. Currently, I am unearthing my previously white-washed Latin cultural ties and in turn promoting further equity and human interconnectedness.

How has your work evolved over time?

In the beginning, my style would change every 2 or 3 weeks. I’ve went from Minimalist to Maximalist, Post-Modernist to Portrait Painter, and from monochromatic Palette to everything in between. I feel now that I am more enrapt with the process of creating and not being restrictive in my methods of creating. I still do not have a ’style’ per say, but I have accepted myself in a perpetual state of in-betweenness.

What are your artistic/creative inspirations?

There are so many. Currently, I am inspired by Sisavanh Phouthavong, Erin Loree, Calli Moore, Cecily Brown, Arden Bendler-Browning, Vadis Turner, Stefanie Thiele and so many other powerful women artists…

I am heavily inspired and influenced by socio-psychological and socio-political ideas, understandings, and circumstance. When trying to understand the world around me, I dive deeper into my own consciousness and understandings through painting.

What goals do you have for your practice?

I would love to have a flourishing art practice that enables me to have even more time and space to create. I am working towards my Masters in Art Therapy. I see my work developing further alongside my growing psycho-analytical understandings of human perception and healing. I want to speak to people amidst depression, battling the internal chaos and anxieties of life. To pick up the pen, the paper, the brush and just flow instead of harboring negative thoughts affecting self-worth. 

Full Interview Online at FRONTRUNNER Magazine.