Shore | Oil on Panel | 15" x 22" | 2011
Artist Statement: Ana Medina’s paintings and prints show contemporary genre scenes. She paints the world around her and those that she loves as they go about their daily lives. Her goal is to open a dialogue about how we care for, and why we interact with each other in the ways that we do. These are the moments that draw us to one another. They are about affection. The process of painting is appropriate because it lets Ana spend time recreating, and in a sense prolonging, the moments she chooses to represent. These paintings are all done from photographic reference and often embrace the unique lighting of snapshot photography and emphasize the flattening of space. The scenes are ambiguous enough to let the viewer participate in the construction of the depicted event and in the creation of the identities of the participating figures.
Ana Medina was born and raised in South Florida. She attended Florida State University for undergraduate studies, where she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts with an emphasis on painting. While there, Ana interned at a local non-profit gallery, received numerous scholarships and awards, and was an active participant in the local art community. Ana then spent time in Albuquerque where she received her Masters of Fine Arts with Distinction from the University of New Mexico. She also had the opportunity to Adjunct as a temporary faculty member at the University of New Mexico once her studies were complete. Ana currently lives in Los Angeles, CA where she keeps an active studio practice and continues to exhibit regularly throughout the country. In the summer of 2014 she was the Artist in Residence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.