Ivelisse Jimenez is a woman who takes her time to dig deeply into what she studies. She needs a rhythm in life, not a hectic one for seeking fast success or mass production. At her pace, she has developed solid and notable work in abstract art.
Despite having studied performing arts at the University of Puerto Rico, her career took momentum after she left to New York in the mid 90’s when she applied for a job as a teacher from a want ad she saw in a Puerto Rico newspaper.
Jimenez moved to New York with her partner Actor Teofilio Torres and besides teaching at a high school, she took courses at the Liga de Estudiantes de Arte in New York to polish her skills in painting, drawing, and sculpturing. “This is when I started to understand what technique meant, to develop a love for the job, and to also have peace,” Jimenez said.
Similar to Requena, her first pieces in New York were figurative paintings. “Even though it had to do with identity, it also had more to do with being a novice,” said Jimenez. She travelled frequently to feature her work in Puerto Rico. Jimenez’s impressive portfolio of work got her admitted into the master’s program of art at New York University and that’s when a drastic change happened in her artistic view.
“I erased all paintings that I had completed or were in progress, except for those already sold,” said Jimenez. “I wanted to see everything white because I felt there were too many influences in family and politics, especially from an island where everyone is battling for identity. I wanted to work with more forms and silence and wanted to understand where those affluences are formed; so I eliminated everything and began to relate to abstract language.”
Jimenez’ abstract work in paintings as well as in her installation of mixed media, shot quickly into international fame in 1999 with a series of exhibits, where she was invited by mentors at NYU like Japanese Artist Shirley Kaneda and critic Saul Ostrow. At these exhibits world renowned abstract artists like Peter Haley and Diana Cooper participate.
“It was a great start for me, different people got to see my work and I would receive invitations like the one from Jacobo Carpio, who had an important gallery in Costa Rica and Miami and who always participated at these types of fairs,” Jimenez said.
Since then, Jimenez has participated in renowned exhibitions and art fairs such as the Prague Quadrennel, Cuenca International Biennial in Ecuador, Museo del Barrio in NY, and in Mexico, and Spain. She was one of the guest artists to present an individual exhibit at the prestigious ARCO, International Contemporary Art Fair in Madrid and one of her pieces was acquired in 2004 by the Museo de Burgos also in Spain.
That era of chaos and world visibility came to a climax in 2008 when according to Jimenez “felt burnt out” and her father was also sick, so she decided to return to Puerto Rico.
“It wasn’t a crash with my creative work instead with the art world,” said Jimenez. “It’s a process when your work is successful and you’re being recognized. You think you’re doing well but it’s not an intellectual respect rather an economic one about how many pieces you can make, how many can be sold, and how you can sell your image.”
She confessed being pressured by multiple galleries that represented her work in Europe and Latin America. “Everyone wanted to guide me in a direction that I didn’t want to go,” Jimenez said. Instead she opted to end her relationship with most art galleries. “It was almost a suicidal decision but it’s one I do not regret. I am very astute and I had to experiment and live another way in order to continue my work.”
Jimenez has proceeded to work on her paintings as well as her installations that use a variety of construction materials along with plexiglass, plastic, and junk thrown out by people. Jimenez has a preference of using defected items. “Maybe I use pieces of colored tape that look beautiful from a distance and when you get up close notice they are torn, and defected, it’s something that I am passionate about.”
Today Jimenez is 50, and feels mature enough to take her work to next level. “Even though I don’t care if my work transcends, the only thing that matters is that I enjoy a process of showing an idea because I have a good time doing what I like,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez showcases her work in Europe and has won important awards. In the U.S. she won the Joan Mitchell Award in painting and the “Laguna Art” contest in Venice, California.
The Museum of Art of Puerto Rico and the Museo de Burgos has permanent art pieces by Jimenez and the rest of her work travels to international fairs and art exhibits.
Interested in buying work by Ivelisse Jimenez, you can visit Diana Lowenstein Gallery at 2043 North Miami Ave. in Miami, Fla, or call (305) 576-1804, or visit Zawara Alejandro Gallery at 1615 Cerra St. in San Juan, or enter www.zawara-alejandro.com.