Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Mack-Valencia.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sandra. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am an artist, a painter to be more specific. My dad was a painter as well, and I enjoyed very much watching him work on his art every day.
Since a very early age, I already knew that painting was my passion, and after a successful career as an imports manager of the second largest chemical broker in my country, and a failed attempt to become an engineer, I decided to quit everything and pursue my passion. That was the best decision of my life. I finished my BFA in Medellin, Colombia, and my MFA in New York, where I actually live and work.
Being an artist is far from the stereotyped image of a weed-smoker and wine drinker bohemian character that waits for inspiration to strike. Being an artist is a lot of hard work, and inspiration only comes from persistence. After finishing my MFA at Hunter College in New York, I felt intimidated by an art market that was unknown to me. I had to learn as I walked the path of hunting for opportunities and I tried to figure out how to make a living from my career.
Like many other artists, I had a part-time job, and I would spend the other time creating paintings and working on marketing my career, that is, applying for exhibitions, meeting other artists and curators, building my website and online presence, going to openings, and knocking at galleries’ doors looking for representation -just to mention a few of the many hats we have to wear. One of the first doors that opened to my career happened in Georgia, when Soho Myriad, a very well known and professional art consultant firm contacted me and showed interest in my work. Through them, I have placed work in hotels in Washington and Amsterdam.
It did not take long to be reached by DAC art consultants, also located in Atlanta. Another wonderful firm that has been very reliable. They have placed some of my works at the Renaissance Hotel and other public venues. To have this confidence vote was a boost to my career. It propelled me to apply directly to galleries, until I finally landed representation by AnArte Gallery, one of the best commercial galleries in San Antonio, Texas. Today, I am entirely dedicated to my career and eager to do more every day. It is not a job when you love it.
Besides the commercial venues, it is through art that I have met wonderful people and developed private and public projects, like “Alumbrados” an art collaboration with artist Laura Fayer that is currently installed at La Perla Garden in New York; and last year, I had a print of one of my paintings covering the Teatro Communale in L’Aquila, Italy. A seven-story building that is among the most important cultural symbols of this Italian town.
Seeing my work at that scale brought me to tears, and once again I felt it… life is good.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nope, it has not been a smooth road, but I would do it all over again. Besides creating artworks, I have to set time aside to handle the business side of my career, and a lot of this is not taught in schools but learned as you walk the line. There is a lot of competition, and rejection letters are part of the every-day business of being an artist.
There have been times when I felt down and like nothing was going on, but always there has been something that suddenly happens that revitalizes my desire to keep going. One of the challenges we face every day is to feel underestimated because of the false and stereotyped image created for artists. People expect us to do things for free, and it is pretty insulting to even be asked to give away your work.
Would you ask a lawyer to handle your case for free? or a doctor to give you a free consultation? We go through many years of training, and of constant hard work, so why do people think it is ok to ask us to give away our work? There is a misconception where our labor is not seen as “real” work; just because we happen to follow our passion, it does not mean that we don’t have to pay for our studio rent, art materials, art insurance, shipping costs, web page maintenance, artwork photographs and yes, we do eat too.
To be honest, I truly believe that being an artist has to be one of the toughest business out there, but we still do it simply because it is not just a career or a job, but part of what we are. Let’s add that I am also a woman, and a latina, and as much as I hate to admit it, it is even harder to make your way in an art world dominated primarily by white men. However, like we say in my country, “The braver the bull, the better the bullfight.”
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about MackVal Art Studio – what should we know?
I am in the creative field. I am a painter that loves stories. I grew up in Medellín, Colombia listening to fairy tales and urban legends which translates into the narrative aspect that you will find in my work. In my paintings, I use beauty as a bait to engage the viewers and then lure them into a further reading of the work, which is filled with twists and edgy clues. I usually combine photo transfer with drawing and painting. Photography references to both reality and memory, while drawing and painting allow me to bring an intuitive response to the materials and the process.
I have placed my artwork in private and public collections like the Kimpton Hotel in Amsterdam, the Renaissance Hotel in Cincinnati, La Perla Garden in New York, LeVeque Hotel in Ohio, Bellevue Hyatt Hotel in Washington, and others. One of the highlights of my career was to see my work printed at large scale covering the scaffolding of the Teatro Comunale, a seven-story building in L’Aquila, Italy. To top this experience, one of the jurors for this project was Ian Alteveer, a curator at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it was sponsored by OffSite Art/Artbridge, two non-profit organizations that are transforming a city into a giant public gallery.
What sets me aside from other business is my personal philosophy, which is quite simple: Everything one does should be beautiful. It is not a denial of reality, but an acknowledgment that beauty is still present –and needed in our acts, our thoughts, our ideals, and our interactions with the world and with the other. I am also open to new ideas and alternative venues, so it is not rare that you would find samples of my work being displayed at a church and at a sex shop at the same time.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The list would be VERY long. I have had the fortune of being surrounded by wonderful people that have helped me pave the path of my career, from mentors like Gabriel Restrepo, my first art professor at Escuela de Arte Eladio Velez, and Joel Carreiro and Juan Sanchez from Hunter College, to helpful and savvy peers and friends like artist Laura Fayer and Barbara Ellman who always offer me their valuable advice. Art consultants like the Atlanta based one’s Soho Myriad and D.A.C. and of course, Ana Montoya, the gallerist from San Antonio Texas that opened the doors of her gallery to my work.
Collectors like Janet Montagne and Epitacio Resendez. Curators like Krista Saunders and Elvis Fuentes. Also institutions like El Museo del Barrio and organizations like OffSite/Artbridge. My husband Kenny Mack has always offered me his unconditional support, my father Manuel Valencia was my best friend and first exposure to painting, and my mother Omaira Alvarez has been an example of tenacity and strength. I have been very lucky to have a family that feels proud of what I do.
The list is too long. It is through relationships that I have landed opportunities, and it is my motto to surround myself only with people of principles. Like-minded people travel in packs, so I am really careful to pick the ones that feel right.
Contact Info:
- Address: 37-24 24th St, Suite #402 Long Island City, NY 11101
- Website: www.SandraMackValencia.com
- Phone: 3472047652
- Email: http://sandramackvalencia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandramackval/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandra.mackvalencia
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandramackval
Image Credit:
Waldinei Lafaiete, Offsite Art, and Kenneth Fisher-Mack
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
