PRISCILLA ALEMAN

Priscilla Aleman graduated from The Cooper Union with her BFA in Sculpture. Upon graduating she continued her art practice in Miami working with archaeologists, while establishing the historic preservation committee in MiamiDade County. Aleman’s work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Margulies Collection, The Deering Estate, Young Arts Foundation, among other venues. She has participated as ArtistinResidence at Mildred’s Lane, Wheaton Arts, VCU Summer Studio Program, and has received numerous grants including Columbia University Dean Travel Grant, The Benjamin Menschel Fellowship, and is an alumnus for the U.S. Presidential Scholar Program.

www.priscillaaleman.com

My studies at Columbia University look into the correlation between the natural environment, the architectural layout of cities and the formation of communities. My training as an archaeological technician influences my methodology for creating sculpture installations, enabling me to conduct an intimate investigation of history, nature and culture, and its relationship to the region. I am interested in how our understanding of sacred moves from its original position as a site, into place with symbolic meaning. In my art practice I construct sculptural effigies, replicate artifacts, and collect from my environment, utilizing archives and research facilities in both archaeology and horticulture. By having an understanding of the landscape’s past traditions and its environmental layout, I begin to design my own sacred arenas. The sculptures allow me to investigate significant figures and symbols, their transformations, and how these transformations shape our understanding, meaning, and function of an environment.

RIGHT An Archaeological Romance, 2019 Ceramics, collected seeds from Montgomery Botanical Center (eggfruit, mangrove, sea grape, Live Oak), pressed mango leaves 30" × 30" × 6"

TOP Terracotta Scatter, 2019 Ceramics 60" × 30" × 6"

BOTTOM Terracotta Scatter (Detail), 2019 Ceramics 60" × 30" × 6"

OPPOSITE In studio, 2019