We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Valeria Haedo Divinorum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Valeria below.
Valeria, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
With my work, I explore interdimensional space using glass and mirrors. Working from the tangible physical world, glass, and metals, to the immaterial, light and shadows.
How can I translate the complexity of the psychedelic and mysterious elements of our natural world by exposing magical and fantasy elements as parts contained within perceived normality?
The purpose of my work is to generate a common symbolic language decoding information that we all have in our biological structure and memory, highlighting the beauty of the basic coincidences of something common. A sensitive atmosphere to recognize the universe from its macro (fractals) to its micro (cells) expressed in the mathematics and the geometry of the holographic figures.
The 4th dimension in Math involves time. When I include movement using motors, they transform colors and shapes fuse– I question: How does motion affect the human perception of space?
My work invites us to establish a deeper contemplation of our universe, and its message is about an essential ceremony for health and spirituality. If everything is determined by how and what we perceive, understanding the mechanics of perception can contribute to changing our reality.
The sculptures I design are made by using beveled, dichroic, and iridescent glass sheets; materials that allow me to explore light refraction from different angles and surfaces generating new shapes through layers of light and color. My work embodies light and shadow, finding new forms relating to spatial interaction by the interpretation of space into one single sculpture.
A major theme in my work is the human connection with nature and the organic expressions that emerge from that relationship. In flowers, fractal patterns appear, and geometric compositions become apparent. Through these geometric patterns, we can witness the perfect balance of life and creation in the spiraled recurrence of time and space.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
With formal training in the School of Architecture in Buenos Aires. I have attended residencies in Argentina and the US and have created works for a variety of contexts including galleries, live performances, and site-specific installations. I am currently an Adjunct Professor of New Media Art at LaGuardia Community College and teach art workshops. Recent exhibitions include Locus Amoenus (New York, NY), Light and Shadow Rethinking Visual Spaces (Bronx, NY), Solstice (Governors Island), I Break (Venice, Italy), El Hipercubo (Buenos Aires, Arg.) Space Light (LIC, NY), Illusional (New York, NY), Rear Vision (Madrid, Spain), and Bangkok Biennale (Bangkok, Thailand). I have created light-based sculptural installations at Griffin Sidewalk Studio in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall (New York, NY), 100 Sutton Studios (Brooklyn, NY) Chashama (New York, NY), Centro Cultural Voces del Sur (Buenos Aires, Arg.), The Plaxall Gallery (Queens, NY), Flux Factory (LIC, NY), The Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NY) and others. In 2013 I started my research of the process of Tiffany technique and the principles of sacred geometry with my mentor, Andres Jacob at Taller Escuela del Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am a member of the collective Salvia Divinorum and a recipient of the 2021 NYC Artist Corps Grant. Press for my work includes Harper’s Bazaar, People en Español, NY Post, Stir, 440 Gallery, Time Out NY, and NY1.com, among others. I have a passion for creating works for the public and with the public, to embrace connectedness and democratize art-making for people in our community.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
For me, since the beginning of my art practice, the creator is the audience. I value the work that has been passed by many different hands and has the energy and creativity of a communal mind and not just a single/ individual vision. Art is a response to the world we live in, we react and translate it, through gestures, music, and color.
I do live visuals with glass, prisms, and analog projectors in churches, galleries, and other DIY spaces. I worked as an architect in building installations and scenic architecture, and I also designed ecological houses made with adobe and superadobe structures in South America.
I also teach art workshops for people of all ages from kindergarten to seniors. I have experience working for kids in self-contained classes in co-op city and other public schools in The Bronx, where I constantly learn about the gifts everyone has to create artwork.
As an immigrant artist working with immigrant communities, my mission is to bring tools and funds for materials to create significant changes in our society through art-making workshops that allow my students to expand their horizons.
Stained-glass work has always been seen as a craft, and often it is not appreciated as much in the fine art world. But I always felt admiration for it. Glass has similarities with water: light and color can travel through both media, and both are also able to reflect it. Glass as a material is not stochastic it is a moving fluid that cannot be witnessed on a human scale; it is also fragile. I see glass as an analog for the disconnection that human have in their relation to nature’s systems and their fragility.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes, I am always open to collaborating with new folks. I am always interested in the opportunity to present my work in new spaces, working with musicians has always been a great match, since we both create ambiances. But I am open to whoever would like to reach out and chat about possibilities to include my work in their projects or create new things together.
The best way to contact me is through my website: https://valeriadivinorum.com/contact
Contact Info:
- Website: https://valeriadivinorum.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valeriadivinorum/
- Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user60100937
Image Credits
Photos by
Lawrence Sumulong © Lincoln Center
Maria La Sangre @marialasangre
Nadia Bautista @misscomplejo
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