We recently connected with Kandy G Lopez and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kandy G, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My paternal grandfather was a military man which meant that my father and his brothers grew up in a very militant environment. Even though my father raised us in a very different environment, some of his offspring, including myself, had this military gene inheritance. I work best when I have a schedule. My mother’s side is the total opposite of the idea of militant. They are creative problem solvers, risk takers, and don’t follow the rules. I inherited that side as well which gives me the ability to take risks, experiment and go against the grain – like becoming an artist. They also have the MOST energy of any baby boomer I have met. These two qualities/gifts has given me my work ethic.
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?
My name is Kandy G Lopez and I was born in 1987 in Bayonne, NJ. My parents split and my mother, brother and I moved to Hialeah, Florida. We went to two different elementary schools and I eventually landed in Rainbow Park Elementary School for the dance magnet program. Ballet was a challenge, so I chose my last interested option in an arts magnet middle school, art. I went to Norland Middle School of the Arts in Opa Locka, FL. and the teachers there changed my life’s trajectory. I was exposed to as many different mediums that their financial budget would allow. Underserved schools within underserved communities was something I didn’t notice until I was accepted to New World School of the Arts in downtown Miami. The juxtaposition of funding and the possibilities was a shocker for a kid who grew up in Miami Gardens/Carol City creating work on repurposed materials like cardboard. New World was beyond my imagination. We were recruited from art schools in the US and I ended up attending Maryland Institute College of Art where I stayed for a year. The housing market crashed, my mom lost her job and we were in the middle of losing our family home. I ended up in Tampa studying business and depression set in. I decided to paint and draw my surrounding and was then introduced to the Arts department where I majored in Painting. I received my B.S. in Business with concentrations in Marketing and Management and my B.F.A. with a concentration in Painting. This is where I understood that art was my path and that teaching would be a way to achieve that so I went for my M.F.A. at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fl. I was blessed with a full-time tenure track position at Daytona State College for 2 years. I eventually moved back down to S. Florida and I am now an Associate Professor at Nova Southeastern Univerity and Program Director for the Art + Design program. Throughout these changes, I’ve been steadily making images of people who look like me and those from within my community. It is my goal to have representation in spaces where we have been erased, including the western canon of art history. I have been signed exclusively to ACA Galleries in Chelsea, NY and have had solo and group exhibitions every single year after graduate school. I am also a mother of 2 (5 and 3) and I realize that my example as an Afro-Caribbean, brown-skinned American artist is important for my children. I create representation for them. So that they can see themselves in all kinds of spaces and have thriving examples of possibility.
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?
Representation – In graduate school, my example of a fierce Afro-Caribbean artist was Juana Valdes. She made my goals feel achievable.
Persistence – you are your own cheerleader. You need to BELIEVE in yourself even when others around you, do not.
Network – open up. Get to know people. Introduce yourself, honestly.
Advise -all of the above & take your practice seriously. It is your job to be in the studio every day. Figure it out, no excuses. Your studio can be your kitchen table, your bed, or your car.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
This will be a cliche answer, my mother. My mother immigrated to the US at 18, not knowing English. She moved in with her father who had another family and eventually she was kicked out of their home. She had to figure out how to live on her own, learn the language, bring over and raise her family members, and help them then get on their feet. My parents came here with nothing and are living proof of hard work, perseverance and most importantly, kindness. If they came here with nothing and I have everything, what is my excuse?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kandyglopez.com
- Instagram: kandyglopez
- Facebook: kandyglopez
- Linkedin: kandyglopez
- Youtube: kandyglopezart
