About

Paula Flores was born and raised in the hectic border city of Tijuana, Mexico. She has a bachelors in visual art from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and a Masters in Art & Science from die Angewandte (University of Applied Art Vienna).
Using rocks,branches, plants, bacteria and fungi as storytellers of the history of the world and guides for interspecies relationships. I explore diverse understandings of who we are as humans out and inside of what is considered the natural world by applying multispecies mediator roles and inverting it in as many ways possible. Pushing myself to leave the concepts and comfort of what it is to be either human or nature.

Establishing relationship playing and exploring with symbiosis, interspecies relationships, rituals,nature and culture gaps and connections.

Through the years in my work I have explored my and our (as a whole) relationship with nature.

As someone that was born and raised in an industrial city, the border city of Tijuana my ties with nature were controlled within the city landscape, the other ties were from unknown lands and times that I relived through  my grandparents stories of when they were young and the countless adventures at my grandparents garden and ranch or other places in the area of Tecate where we would go for walks and hikes that allowed me to see other dimensions.

My relationship with nature always felt magical. I always envisioned these moments that they,my grandparents, described so carefully when they were reliving their childhood memories.

Their vocabulary was filled with references of nature and all the beings that inhabit within. Myself being from a city didn’t fully understand all of these poetic ways of nature that overflow into language, culture and behaviour that allow oneself to find its place in the world.

Now that years have passed since I have heard those stories. I can still see some of those images in my mind. Now through my work I find myself exploring these connections that for many of us have not been part of our life because we grew up with new visions and understanding of what nature is.

How can I, we people from the cities, reconnect with nature? How can we make ourselves feel part of it again and not something that is next to us close or far away? Through my art work I  investigate the hierarchies that humans have created within the natural world, the concepts that we have created to dissect and categorize to our benefit all entities that make up not just our physical world, but the whole cosmos.

Trying to deep dive into developing our abilities of communication and the establishment of meaningful reciprocal relationships with other beings, other entities. Through the practice of painting, sculpture, installation and performance and using a diversity of material from organic to inorganic and from “living to non living”. I question the limits that we have imposed on ourselves with the concepts that we have created and look for flexible ways to create new understandings and new ways of existing.

Using rocks,branches, plants, bacteria, fungi as guides, storytellers of the history of the world and the symbiotic relationships that had to be established and kept in balance for the existence of what we know as  nature I explore our understandings of who we are as humans out and inside of the natural world by applying the role of the mediator and inverting it in all ways possible to me. Pushing myself to leave the concepts and comfort of what it is to be either,or.

Find down here my CV and Curator’s Texts

Selected CV

Selected exhibitions  

Solo exhibitions

2022 Party of a lifetime, curated by Marcello Farabegoli, Kunstraum Feller/Vienna Art Week, Vienna, Austria

2022 Conexiones naturales entre espejimos y realidades CEART, Mexico

2018 Litos Liquen CECUT Tijuana.

2017 Semilla del paraíso  ICM  Vienna, Austria.

2017 Flora nativa en el paisaje invadido, Deslave, Tijuana. 

Group exhibitions

2023 Patchwork, YCC, Vienna, Austria

2023 TRAUMA Monologe gallery, Belgrade, Serbia

2022 SMOM overload, KUBUS export, Vienna, Austria

2022 Tratado material, 12-14 contemporary, Vienna, Austria

2022 Uncurated, Kunstraum Feller by Marcello Farabegoli Vienna, Austria Vienna,

2021 In search of the lost Unity, fAN, Vienna, Austria.

2021 Trauma, Kunstraum Munchen, In the frame of VARIOUS OTHERS. Munich, Germany.

2021 Perspectives of Transformation, Meno Parkas gallery/ Marcello Farabegoli projects, Kaunas, Lithuania

2020 Utopia de una transformacion 12-14 contemporary.

2020 Fuck you Albedo, Improper Walls, Vienna, Austria.   

2019 Open studios Vienna Art Week. 

2019 Is this intimacy Curators agenda Krinzinger projekt.

2019 Ibiennale  Honolulu,Hawaii.

2019 Biennale Sessions, Biennale di Venezia.

2019 Consciousness reframed  Porto, Portugal.

2019 Praise the laziness, 12-14 contemporary, Vienna, Austria.

2018 Being here with you  Museum of Contemporary art of San Diego.

2017 Event Horizon, Joshua Treenial, California, U.S.A 

2017 Boiling Process 5: Mythodologies, San Diego Art Institute. 2015 Revision Glocal/ Glocal Review El Cubo, Tijuana, Mexico.

2015 Boiling Process JAUS, Los Angeles, U.S.A.

2014 Boiling Process, TJINCHINA, Tijuana, Mexico. 

Art fairs/Auctions

2023 Museo de Arte de Sinaloa, Mexico 

2023 After party curated by Marcello Farabegoli, Parallel Vienna

2022 Parallel Editions with fAN, Vienna, Austria

2020 Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego Auction.

2020 Marcello Farabegoli Projects, Parallel Vienna  Austria.

2018 Salon ACME, Mexico city.

Artist Residencies 

2018 ART OMI, New York, U.S.A.

2017 Kulturdrogerie Vienna, Austria.

2016 Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna, Austria

Artist Talks

2023 Art & Science forum, Meta Spatiu gallery, Timisoara, Romania

2022 Party of a lifetime with Elisabeth von Samsonow

2021 In search of the lost unity with Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, ICM, Vienna, Austria.

2020 taboo, transgression and transcendence in art & science, Vienna, Austria.

2019 21st International Consciousness Reframed, Porto, Portugal

2018 29 Sessions in Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, U.S.A.

2017 Semilla del Paraiso, Institute of Mexican Culture with curator Koan Jeff Baysa, Vienna, Austria.

2017 Laser Talks, UC Santa Barbara, U.S.A. 

 

  Selected Collections 

   Permanent collection Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, U.S.A

   Archive collection Art Omi

CV

DOWNLOAD HERE

STUDIES

Masters in Art & Science, Die Angewandte, Vienna, Austria

Bachelors Plastic Arts, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México

Room to bloom: Leveraging obstacles to feminist and migrant artist careers, Palermo, Italy

GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND ART RESIDENCIES

2023 Filotimo art residency, Athens Greece, with the support of Room to Bloom and European Alternatives 

2022 MA7 and Bezirk 7, Austria

2021 BMKÖS, Austria 

2018-2020 FONCA-CONACYT, Estudios en el extranjero, México

2018 ART OMI, New York, U.S.A

2017 APROART, México

2017 KULTURDROGERIE PROJEKT, Vienna, Austria

2016 KUNSTHALLE EXNERGASSE, Vienna, Austria

COLLECTIONS 

Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, USA

Art Omi, USA 

ART FAIRS AND AUCTIONS

2023 Auction Museo de Arte de Sinaloa (MASIN), Culiacán, México 

2023 Parallel Vienna, Solo Project Statement with Marcello Farabegoli projects, Vienna, Austria 

2022 Vienna Parallel Editions, Fine Art network

2020 Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego Art Auction, Artsy Platform

2020 Marcello Farabegoli Projects, Parallel Vienna, Austria

2018 SALON ACME, Mexico City

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 PARTY OF A LIFETIME curated by Marcello Farabegoli, Kunstraum Feller, Vienna, Austria. Part of Vienna Art Week

2022 PARTY OF A LIFETIME prelude, Red Carpet Showroom Volkstheater, Vienna, Austria

2022 CONEXIONES NATURALES ENTRE ESPEJISMOS Y REALIDADES curated by Olga Margarita Davila, Centro Estatal de las Artes, Tijuana, Mexico

2021 Red Carpet Showroom, Schottentor Station, Vienna, Austria

2018 LITOS LIQUEN, CECUT, Tijuana, México

2017 SEMILLA DEL PARAÍSO curated by Koan Baysa, Institute of Mexican Culture , Vienna, Austria

2017 LET IT MULTIPLE TIMES INFINITE FOLD, KULTURDROGERIE PROJEKT Vienna, Austria

2017 FLORA NATIVA EN EL PAISAJE INVADIDO, Deslave, Tijuana, México

2016 SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN THE EXOTIC IS SACRED, Kunsthalle Exnergasse residency space Vienna, Austria

2013 RETROSPECTIVA , Praxis, Tijuana, México

ARTIST TALKS AND ART & SCIENCE CONFERENCES

2023 METAFORUM art & science, Timisoara, Romania 

2022 PARTY OF A LIFETIME, Artist talk with Paula Flores and Elisabeth von Samsonow. 

2022 ROOM TO BLOOM FESTIVAL, National Museums of World Cultures, Malmo, Sweden

2021 IN SEARCH OF THE LOST UNITY with Jose Manuel Springer et. al., Institute of Mexican Culture, Vienna, Austria

2021 IN SEARCH OF THE LOST UNITY with Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein et. al., Institute of Mexican Culture, Vienna, Austria

2020 TABOO, TRANSGRESSION AND TRANSCENDENCE IN ART & SCIENCE, Vienna, Austria

2019 CONSCIOUSNESS REFRAMED, Porto, Portugal

2018 29 SESSIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ART, San Diego, U.S.A

2017 SEMIILLA DEL PARAÍSO WITH KOAN BAYSA et. al., Institute of Mexican Culture , Vienna, Austria

2017 KOAN BAYSA et. al. KULTURDROGERIE PROJEKT, Vienna, Austria

2017 LASER TALKS UC Santa Barbara, U.S.A

2016 OPEN STUDIOS KEX, Vienna Art Week, Vienna, Austria

GROUP SHOWS

2024 LOS INVITADOS (THE GUESTS) by Maxico, Venice, Italy 

2024 Becoming mycelial, KH7 art space, Aarhus, Denmark

2024 A leaflet project, Filotimo residency, Athens, Greece 

2024 Ecologies of Care gathering, Avtonomi Akadimia, Athens, Greece

2023 Patchwork, Young Curators Club, Lautlos.haus, Vienna, Austria

2023 TRAUMA, Monolog gallery, Belgrade, Serbia 

2023 Villa Farsetti Santa Maria di Sale, Venice, Italy 

2023 DINGE, Q202, Atelierrungang, Vienna, Austria 

2023 TRAUMA, CRAC Spazio Arte, Castelnuovo Rangone, Italy

2022 SMOM OVERLOAD -uncensorable-, Vali Export KUBUS/Guadalupe Aldrete and Vaida Tamoševičiūtė, Vienna, Austria

2022 TOCADOR, VBKÖ, Vienna, Austria

2022 TRATADO MATERIAL, 12-14 contemporary, Vienna, Austria

2022 SMOM OVERLOAD, Meno Parkas gallery/ Guadalupe Aldrete and Vaida Tamoševičiūtė, Kaunas, Lithuania

2022 UNCURATED, Kunstraum Feller/Marcello Farabegoli Projects,Vienna, Austria

2021 IN SEARCH OF THE LOST UNITY, fAN/ Ute Burkhardt-Bodenwinkler, Vienna, Austria

2021 TRAUMA, Kunstraum Munich/ Denise Parizek, In the frame of VARIOUS OTHERS, Munich, Germany

2021 IN SEARCH OF THE LOST UNITY, 12-14 contemporary/ Marcello Farabegoli , Vienna, Austria

2021 PERSPECTIVES OF TRANSFORMATION, Meno Parkas gallery/ Marcello Farabegoli, Kaunas, Lithuania

2020 CONTINUO LATIDO AMERICANO de Performance, Convento de San Agustin, Antic Teatre, Barcelona,

12-14 Contemporary Vienna · Third Space, Helsinki

2020 UTOPÍA DE UNA TRANSFORMACIÓN/Luciana Esqueda and Denise Parizek, 12-14 Contemporary, Vienna, Austria

2020 FUCK YOU ALBEDO, Improper Walls, Vienna, Austria

2020 HOSPITALITY, Hinterland gallery, Vienna, Austria

2020 GLÜCKSRENNTAG, WUK, Vienna, Austria

2020 MAFA7, Timisoara, Romania

2019 OPEN STUDIOS, Vienna Art week , Vienna, Austria

2019 IS THIS INTIMACY, Krinzinger Projekt/ Curators agenda, Vienna, Austria

2019 Globart Academy, Klosternneuburg, Austria

2019 PRAISE THE LAZINESS, 12-14 CONTEMPORARY/ Denise Parizek, Vienna, Austria

2019 CONSCIOUSNESS REFRAMED Porto, Portugal.

2019 BIENNALE SESSIONS, Biennale di Venezia 2019, Venice, Italy

2019 IBIENNALE/Koan Baysa, Honolulu, Hawai’i

2018 APPLIED MICROPERFORMATIVITY, AIL, Vienna, Austria

2018 BEING HERE WITH YOU/ ESTANDO AQUI CONTIGO,Museum of Contemporary art of San Diego/ Jill Dawsey and Anthony Graham, San Diego, U.S.A

2018 MEXI-CAIDO Naebono art studios/ Kio Grifith, Japan

2018 SALON ACME, Mexico City, Mexico

2017 EVENT HORIZON BOXO projects, Joshua Tree, U.S.A

2017 MITHOLOGIES San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, U.S.A

2017 MITHOLOGIES PERFORMANCE NIGHT, San Diego Art Institute, U.S.A

2017 MITHOLOGIES San Diego Art Institute, Ichiro Irie, San Diego, U.S.A

2016 THE FRONT GALLERY, San Ysidro, U.S.A

2016 FABRIK EXPO, Los Angeles, U.S.A

2015 REVISION GLOCAL/ GLOCAL REVIEW, CUBO/Mely Barragan and Daniel Ruanova, Tijuana, Mexico

2015 JOSHUA TREENIAL, Joshua Tree, U.S.A

2015 BOILING PROCESS 3, Mexicali Rose, Mexicali, MEXICO

2015 THE FRONT GALLERY, San Ysidro, U.S.A

2015 BOILING PROCESS, Jaus gallery, Los Angeles, U.S.A

2014 BYOB, Tjinchina, Tijuana, México

2014 BOILING PROCESS, Tjinchina, Tijuana, México

2013 PREFACIO, Sala de Arte Álvaro Blancarte, Tijuana, México.

2013 Entre parentesis gallery, Tijuana, México

Curator Marcello Farabegoli

Duality also plays an important role for Paula Flores, in the context of nature. In general, she is concerned with the complexity of nature, with our knowledge or ignorance of it and our relationship to it. How is it possible, the artist wonders, that Western capitalist imperialist thought, conceived predominantly by men, has enabled a part of humanity to legitimize the exploitation of enslaved and oppressed populations and groups of people, and nature no less? Thus, Flores seeks ways to change, dismantle, and overcome these hierarchical conceptual constructs. To do so, she is studying extraordinary ways of communication between humans and other species, such as fungi, bacteria, and plants. She hopes that this could lead to a shift in the balance of power and possibly pave the way for a more balanced relationship between humans and nature that would benefit the entire planet. Specifically, Flores is interested in the duality between life and death and questions where the sharp boundary between these concepts might be found. Regarding this fundamental contrast, it should be mentioned that the famous Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, with his legendary essay “What is Life” published about seventy years ago, had pointed out the great riddles of the phenomenon of life as well as the associated principal explanatory hurdles, and at the same time had given an essential impulse to genetics. Remarkably, the current state of knowledge is still not sufficient to understand how life arose. Likewise, it is still technically impossible at present to create artificial life. Last but not least, a virus, i.e. a being which exists as such by definition between life and death, plays a generally known frightening role in the last time. Furthermore, in so-called animistic religions, for example, a personal soul is attributed to any natural object. Especially in their youth, some people today may still have the ability to feel this all-soul; some artists in particular often cultivate this ability throughout their lives. In her childhood, Flores herself was able to cherish a magical feeling concerning nature and recognized this particular effect even more intensely in the stories of her grandparents who grew up in the countryside. Flores’ will to find a way of transformation by means of explorative-artistic work, which is to break through the dual concept of life and death, seems to be particularly radical. Last but not least, she believes that through this she can attain a connection to beings that animate the universe. The core of the installation “Mediation” (2021) by Paula Flores are the three sculptures made from the mycelia of mushrooms. According to Wikipedia, in common parlance, only the visible fruiting bodies are referred to as mushrooms. The actual fungus, however, is predominantly the fine, thread-like structure (hyphae) existing mycelium in the soil or in the wood, which is mostly not perceived because of its occurrence in these opaque substrates. Fungal mycelia can grow to a size of over a square kilometer, a huge biological mass, and an old age. Mycelia are vital in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for their role in the decomposition of plant material and are the primary factor in a plant’s health, nutrient intake, and growth and fitness. Flores has been experimenting with mycelia for a long time in order to specifically grow them into compact shapes and then let them dry out, whereby in most cases this process also means the death of these living beings. The three sculptures in this installation seem somehow like prehistoric eggs, which could have come from dinosaurs or are even of extraterrestrial origin. When you take them in hand, you notice how light and fragile these filaments that have grown together are. The gold foil on which the artist places the sculptures indicates the high value of this species for our ecosystem and thus also for our human survival on earth. The black and white fur simply symbolizes the principle of duality itself, in which we humans are mostly caught. It is noteworthy that Flores also opts for an artificial material that mimics a natural one… By bringing or forcing a hidden, essential living being so radically to light, so to speak, the artist seems to want to suggest to us what a fine, immense network of hidden things, many-valued logic, quantum physical superpositions between dual principles, between thesis and antithesis, between particles and waves, matter and immaterial things can still exist.

Writter by: Marcello Farabegoli

Jill Dawsey and Anthony Graham

Jill Dawsey, curator and Anthony Graham, Assistant curator.

In her sculptural installations, Paula Flores brings together found and recycled objects, both natural and synthetic, to render the indigenous flora and fauna of the San Diego/Tijuana region-a continuous landscape that is defined, divided and altered by human intervention. The installation Native Flora in the Invaded Landscape points to questions around geography and territory, and the effect of climate change on the environment. Plants such as the barrel cactus and elderberry tree are rendered in plastic and metallic materials, their natural qualities skewed by the playfulness of their neon colors. At times, these are contrasted with earthen material, such as piles of ash. Elsewhere, textiles and yarn wrap around the sculptures like vines, growing improbably and, at times, invasively. Crossing her role as an artist with that of a botanist, Flores creates landscapes that exist between the observable, biological world and the imagination.

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