ANA GONZALEZ-GALVAN
Ana Gonzalez-Galvan born 2007, Washington, D.C. native, is a painter and storyteller passionate about capturing the depth of human experiences through portraiture. Her work explores identity, humanity, and untold narratives within a broader societal context, often incorporating elements of her Mexican heritage and intricate patterns. Deeply interested in the ways environments, systems, and history shape individuals’ lives, she uses art as a tool to amplify unheard voices and critically examine the structures that define society. At the core of her work is a fundamental truth: at the end of the day, we are all bones.
My Art
It took me a long time to figure out that I am not simply a “painter”, I could argue that I am a writer, that my art is a form of speech in itself as backed up by semiotic thought. My art are stories, they are patterns, they are my thoughts on humanity, my art is me making sense of the world around me and documenting it. Humanity is beautiful, our world is too; People are so beautiful for they've always reminded me that we are not alone, but to say these things are only beautiful would be a lie, for humanity is so much more complex than that.
At our core, we are all the same. We are bones and cartilage under the clothes we wear, but on an individual level we are each completely and utterly singular. Every single human being alive and dead has a story, a story worth telling, and truly being listened to; But by exploring the world around me, it is impossible to neglect the history of humanity which is long and twisted. Our society holds different barriers and contexts for different people. And it is absolutely crucial to explore and challenge the patterns and institutions that humans have desecrated onto one another. I like to say that I paint “nearby” people. Even when I interview and appear close to my subject I cannot claim to speak on their behalf, for I have not merely lived what others have, each person I paint becomes both personal and universal. I do not explore only one person, I am exploring a human being as a part of something larger.
Patterns are central to that vision. Humanity itself repeats itself, as do fractals and patterns in everything around us. These cycles remind me of weaving, of Mexican textiles, of tapestries, I hope to paint people from all socio-economic statuses, ethnicities, and perspectives, putting them in the same rooms, and making a larger pattern and tapestry of stories.