Twenty Five
connection with the structures of her childhood left a lasting impression on her. He taught her that “buildings are part of the history of what and who we are.” Today, her art brings her closer to the past, and the memories of the man who taught her the value of being present and appreciating the world around her. “That’s the same way I feel when I’m here in Columbus,” she says, crediting the vibrancy of today’s revitalized downtown with inspiring her to reflect and create. “When I’m walking around [here], it brings
E N A R AMIL L E’S
A C U L M I N AT I O N OF MY JOURNEY
TO
COLUMBUS
Royal Ladies- Beatrice; Mixed Media With Resin
Mixes Architecture, History, & Culture By Erick Richman
elebrating 25 years since she left Puerto Rico C behind and began finding her place in mainland America, Ena Ramille Quiñones’s art show
“Twenty Five: A Culmination of My Journey to Columbus” brings together the past, present and future, inviting others to see Columbus, Georgia’s culture and architecture through the lens of her experience. “To me the old things are sacred,” she says, “so we should be able to share that with future generations in a way that they can relate to and see themselves in.”
Columbus Skyline
she rejects the idea that art should be “behind the glass somewhere in a museum or gallery.” Rather, she says “I want you to feel the texture, hold it, have a complete sensory experience.” One of her most frequent subjects is local architecture, especially buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s. “Some people have lived here all their lives, but
Starry Night Water Tower
back my childhood memories … it’s very dear in my heart when I see families with children and bicycles running around downtown.” Initially unaware of how vibrant and diverse Columbus’ art scene was, she said she came to realize how many “colorful people” there are in the area, and how their art contributes to a thriving, connected community. Alongside the inspirational power of the community, she points out that the stability she has found in Columbus is what truly allowed her to express herself. “I’ve been a worker with no skills, no education, no English,” she says, recalling the experience of leaving her home as a college sophomore decades ago. Today, having finished her master’s degree and married, she is building a reliable career in mortgage finance. Suddenly able to look back on her life, she has taken inspiration from the community and been able to express her experience through art; although it wasn’t her first brush with being creative.
Iron Bank artbyenaramille.com/collections/twenty-five-the-collection/ products/iron-bank-building
She paints with an awareness of the way cultures mingle, shift and grow over time, mixing line drawings, paint and texture to reflect the diversity of the area’s history. From her own background in the culturally diverse island of Puerto Rico to the complex – and often painful – history of the American South, her canvasses show her journey through the inspiration she’s found in the world around her. Embracing mixed media allows her to avoid, as she puts it, being placed “inside a box.” Similarly,
Cafeteras
LocaL
they don’t see the rich history of Columbus and how Columbus came to be,” she says. Her art seems fascinated with the history of buildings in the area, how that history is often obscured, and the vibrancy that has sprung up around and within the structures of the past. She credits her father, a telephone company draftsman back in the 1970s Puerto Rico of her childhood, for teaching her to be keenly and deeply aware of the built environment around her. He would tell her, “Look at the structure, the history,” teaching her to always “admire and absorb what each building is about.” She speaks of her father with memories of Puerto Rico, where she lived until she was a college sophomore. Her relocation to a new place – and a new culture – came just a few years after the death of her father from complications due to diabetes. As a young child, it was impactful. While many people engage with buildings only passively, walking through them, her father’s deeply intimate 10
Electric Slide 1; Mixed Media With Resin
“Twenty years ago,” she says, ”I wanted to be a graphic designer.” She studied commercial art in college, but found that – as a young Latina woman lacking experience, opportunities and connections – she had to put her artistic endeavors on hold. Now, looking back, she’s adamant that art is not a personal endeavor, but a community one. Simultaneously deeply personal and public, art F EBR UAR Y-MAR CH 2021
