Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Antona.
Hi Zoe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up as a Cuban American has heavily influenced not only who I am as a woman but my art practice. As a child, I was always told you can become who you want to be if you work hard for it. And to this day, I still live by that standard. I would say that I have an intense sense of self and always strive to be authentic in everything that I do. Because of this, I exhaust every avenue that I find interesting to become more evolved. From taking my love of lacrosse to the collegiate level to now working hard to become a full-time artist.
I have always had a love for art. When I was in elementary school, I participated in the after-school art program by submitting drawings for competitions. Though my work was not selected this only fueled my fire to pursue it further. As I advanced onto middle school, I developed an amazing relationship with my middle school art teacher, Willie A Williams, and to this day, he is still my mentor. He helped me to understand that I could use my art as a way of expressing myself when I was experiencing hardships. Not only that, he saw a light in me that took years for me understand and always told me to “never settle for less than what I deserved”.
Like most people, High School was a pivotal time for me as a person and pivotal for the development of my art practice. As I mentioned, I have always had a strong sense of self and to my dismay, that was not received well by my peers. However, I did not allow this misunderstanding of my character change or harden me. I once again used hardship to push me forward. So when I wasn’t welcomed at any table in the lunch room, I made a table for myself in the art room. I was fortunate to have Travis Carr as my AP Arts teacher who allowed me to not only expand my arts knowledge in his classroom he also cultivated a safe space for me as a person. It was from this safe haven that I was able to build a body of work and start to understand the possibilities of doing art in the “real world”. So with his help, I had my first group show and I also was accepted into the D.A.A.P. program at the school I was recruited to play lacrosse for, The University of Cincinnati. From my college years in art school, I have developed my skill set of different materials and had amazing opportunities to work with creatives from all fields. With the disruption of Covid-19, moving back to Atlanta from New York City, and a bad breakup these reasons thrusted me into my current practice.
Today I am crafting work that embodies me as a person and pushes the boundaries of what traditional art is. Especially in Atlanta. Through my use of materials, my process, and the scale of my work my abstract pieces are becoming my identity in the Atlanta art scene.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Essentially the road that has led me to this point has been a series of rejections and exhausted interests. Like all artists, I have applied to many opportunities that I have been rejected from but that only makes the opportunities that an accepted into even sweeter. I have come to terms that I am not everyone’s cup of tea but I indulge in that fact. Though it has not been easy, and still isn’t, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I take pride in the hardships that I have been through because it has forced me to become the person that I am today. From being rejected from opportunities to losing people that I love, things happen for a reason and I adjust.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Within the last few years, I have developed my own style of work creating mixed-media wall sculptures that challenge what is considered traditional painting with sculpture. As a person, I feel as though I don’t fit into a mold so it is only fitting that my art practice also reflects that. In my work, I combine industrial materials such as concrete and plexiglass to combine with abstract paintings on canvas. Through my work, I depict how intimacy impacts not only the emotional state but also the physical state. Each relationship piece is representational of the weight and the power dynamics all relationships possess. The process that goes into making each piece requires a lot of physical force to make the materials bend and shaped into their final form which only adds to my intention of emotions expressed outward. Though my emotions are projected onto material, I intentionally create my pieces to be abstract. By doing this the viewer has the chance to place their own emotions onto the piece and essentially project their own meaning onto it as well.
I am proud of my work and that I am able to live a life that makes me happy.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
As I mentioned, Willie A Williams and Travis Carr were huge mentors for me during my youth. Today I have to shout out my growing art community here in Atlanta that includes but aren’t limited to: Painter/ Muralist Petie Parker, Cat Eye Creative Owner Adam Crawford, Curator Brittany Sade, Curator Plushette Ellis, Gallery Owner Anderson Smith, Photographer Brandon ‘November’ Smith, Film Maker Quinn Michael Reeder, Curator Sakari Sanders and so many others. The art community in Atlanta has been so welcoming and really feels like a big family dynamic.
I also have to shout out the people who also support me from afar in New York City which include but aren’t limited to: Artist Ross Pino, Photographer Kevin Sheffield, Photographer Alejandra Rodriguez Velez, Photographer Andrew Allen, Photographer Ethan Manalili, Payton Bogatch and so many more. You all helped me through the hardest time of my life and I am forever grateful for you all.
And above all, I have to give thanks to my family who has always had my back and believed in me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zoeantona.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe.antona/
Image Credits
Photos taken by both Zoe Antona and Brandon “November” Smith
