VISIONARIAS Magazine
Original article in Spanish here:
https://visionarias.business/tina-alberni-mi-obra-se-conjuga-diariamente-con-mi-vida/
Tina Alberni: "My work is daily intertwined with my life"
by Anabelle Yánes
Tina Alberni is a North American painter with Cuban ancestry and a strong Latin American influence as she lived in Bogota, Colombia. Throughout her artistic career, she has experienced different moments that have been strongly linked to her personal condition, as she has a not-so-well-known syndrome that has led her into a constant struggle between life and death: Marfan syndrome (*).
Q: What inspires you when you paint?
Tina Alberni: I've had many inspirations, and I tend to paint in series that can last from two to ten years. I started with the figurative theme from '93 to 2005. I worked a lot on the theme of mother and children, and then when I moved to North Carolina, I changed the theme to a more geometric one, influenced by the Latin American and European towns I had traveled to.
I wanted to express places that I had many memories of through geometry and through images that looked like houses but had no doors or windows because, at that moment, I started to feel the loneliness of society. We are all together, but we are all separated - Tina asserts. That concept interested me a lot, and I worked with that theme for ten years.
Later, Tina ventured into "collage" or mosaic, as she calls it. "That influence came from some colleagues in a gallery that we created with five artists. Four of them worked with mosaics, and I was the only painter. I was influenced by them and started incorporating mosaics into my paintings, linked to the organic, abstract theme with non-geometric organic movement. That lasted for about three to four years."
Tina's perspective changed again in 2018, this time driven by the climate theme, people displaced by war, economic situations, as well as endangered animals. "These are the concerns I feel about the chaos surrounding me."
Looking at Tina's biography, it's astonishing to see the number of activities she has undertaken throughout her artistic career. Even more astonishing is that this entire process of creative work has taken place amidst complicated surgeries and health problems resulting from Marfan syndrome.
The artist explains that at the time she was creating each artwork, she didn't understand the symbiosis between her personal situation and what she expressed in her painting. "I started to understand it a little later when I saw how my work had changed."
"Nowadays, I'm understanding how each theme is connected to each of my personal situations. In retrospect, I see that when I dealt with the figurative theme, it coincided with some surgeries and serious things that interrupted my life and caused great internal fear. I used my art to hold onto something secure. I wanted to feel my body strong, able to survive everything that was happening. It was my way of praying; I painted strong muscles that looked like an artery. This type of art, which lasted for about fifteen years, gave me physical strength to cope with what I was experiencing.
"In 2010, I had two major surgeries, one after another, and when they were over, I felt like my body was in pieces, stitched here and there. The geometric theme helped me psychologically to keep everything in an orderly and strong structure. That gave me physical strength. It was like painting the internal structure I needed to keep everything closed and prevent it from reopening. That geometry gave me that structure," explains Tina when reflecting on her process. "Although I'm talking about a figurative theme, the one about houses, towns, at a fundamental level, it's my struggle for survival that I depict."
P: Then, your mosaic stage with organic elements. What did this stage represent?
Tina Alberni: For me, the mosaic represents the strength and weakness that I have felt at the same time. On a personal level, I have had to be very strong and at the same time, I have felt a lot of vulnerability. That's a constant tension. I needed to express that tension in my work.
These days, she is working on the theme of animals, climate, displaced people, and the impact of human beings and technology on the planet. Alberni tells us: "This responds to the concerns I feel about the external chaos, but it is not linked to something internal. It's like a compass telling me: your body is fine, you don't have to paint anything literal, I don't need to do it anymore."
"I am a supporter of public art"
"One of the things that fascinate me about this art is that anyone can appreciate it, even those who don't step foot in a gallery. By making exhibitions public, everyone can admire them and learn from them."
Tina acknowledges that galleries have their exclusivity and their moment for artists, "but we live in a world where things need to be more open. Exclusivity exists, but I think it's decreasing significantly."
Tina Alberni has participated in digital exhibitions, which fall under the category of public art. "In Miami, I had two works exhibited on digital kiosks, like in around forty kiosks or digital billboards in Brickell, Miami Beach, and other areas of the city. My work was displayed for 28 days."
She also participated in "Horse Whispers" at The Art Train Billboard. "One of my works was placed with prints from other artists on about eight trucks that traveled like a train during the Art Basel event in Miami. In February, she exhibited in another digital exhibition in Vienna, and in June, she will participate in Expo Metro Barcelona 2023, Passeige de Gracia Billboard Art Show in Barcelona, Spain.
P: Can we say that your painting is intertwined with your life?
Tina Alberni: It's a good word; it combines everything, it puts everything exactly where it needs to be. Art is something very personal, at least for me. I'm very observant, and I always questioned why my work changes so much from one series to another. If you see a painting from my figurative stage, you wouldn't recognize me when looking at another one from my geometric stage.
But now I understand it perfectly, and it makes a lot of sense. My work is intertwined with my daily life, and that gives me a lot of purpose because I understand how important it is for me to create the artwork and also to exhibit it. It's both things at the same time.”
P: This process of art and life intertwined has been a significant growth through your work...
Tina Alberni: "Certainly, I don't finish a series until I have learned everything I needed to learn. I squeeze every bit of juice out of the theme, and when I have nothing more to say, I know I'm ready for the next theme.
"A part of me loves technology, but I'm in conflict."
"I think that today everything involves technology. The arts are being taught with technology; the brush and paintbrush are becoming obsolete. My conflict arises because no matter how creative you are when entering, for the computer to paint your words, it uses images from everything it finds on the internet. They are bits and pieces of other artists' images; they use snippets of other people's art. Many people who claim to be artists are doing this."
Tina explains that in order for it to be your own creation, it's necessary to learn binary language or the technology required to create from scratch.
"I'm not using AI programs much. When I use them, I input my original work, my images, and I alter them. The computer doesn't take anyone else's. The works I exhibited in Miami and the one going to Barcelona are my original pieces with augmented reality. Using technology in this way seems important to me. This is the future, and we have to keep up with it. We can't ignore it like some artists have done."
P: How did you get into painting?
Tina Alberni: It all started when we were living in Colombia. My mom is a painter, and at that time, she would take out her canvases, brushes, and oils to a kiosk we had on the property. She would set up her easel and start painting.
One morning, I saw her taking out her things and putting a blank canvas on the easel. When I came back about four hours later, the canvas was painted with images and colors that amazed me. I didn't understand, how did that get there?, I asked her. She gave me a small canvas and some oils on a palette and told me, "Paint whatever you want."
But the big push to choose art came when I moved to the United States and worked for a company that represented the Puerto Rican musician Chayanne and other Latin American artists. "There, I met musicians, painters... the artistic world captivated me incredibly. I had thought of studying Biology, but after that experience, one day I started painting and ventured into an artistic career. For practical reasons, I combined it with pedagogy so that I could teach art and make a living without depending solely on painting.”
Message from Tina to the new generations...
"Open your eyes, live, see, get inspired, don't let yourselves be influenced by other works. Today, there is so much art, but there are many similar works. Go out for a walk, get inspired by what surrounds you so that you have your own ideas; express them with all the passion in the world. Passion has to come from within, no one teaches it to us, and only when it emerges, inspiration comes."
Who is Tina Alberni
Tina Alberni is a visual artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she is an active member of the local art scene.
Her journey began in New York, where she was born, before moving to Puerto Rico, Colombia and Miami during her formative years. After earning her Bachelor's degree in Art Education from Florida International University, Alberni began teaching middle and high school art in Dade County, Florida while simultaneously exhibiting her artwork in shows throughout Colombia, Europe, and New York before the age of 30.
Over the last three decades, Tina Alberni has exhibited in over 100 solo, group, and virtual shows across the United States and abroad, earning recognition and awards for her work along the way. Her accolades include grants from the Charlotte Arts and Science Council, first place awards, and multiple digital billboard art displays in Miami, Charlotte, Barcelona and Austria. Recently, Alberni was invited to display her digital artwork at The Foundry Gallery in Dubai, UAE, and with the ArtBox project in Switzerland, during Art Basel.
Her work has been published in print and online, and her pieces are featured in both private and public collections. Alberni's career has taken her down many paths, including co-ownership of an art gallery, arts teaching & administration, and web/graphic design directorship. She has also served as a guest speaker and jury member for various events and organizations.
Alberni's artistic experimentation has propelled her to delve into a diverse range of mediums, subjects, and genres over the course of her career. One prominent element that permeates her works is automatism, a technique that plays a pivotal role in the inception of each piece. It serves as the initial stepping stone, allowing ideas to gradually emerge and take shape as the artwork evolves, layer by layer.
The influence of Alberni's bi-cultural heritage is unmistakable in her art, as evidenced by her masterful utilization of bold colors and the profound narratives she weaves. Her creations often confront pressing issues such as climate change, the plight of endangered animals, the essence of human existence, and the impact of technology on society. Through her artistic endeavors, Alberni seeks to provoke thought, stimulate dialogue, and raise awareness about these crucial matters.
In recent years, Alberni has focused on her studio practice and has been exploring the realms of AI, AR, and digital collectibles (NFTs) in order to build new connections with a wider audience.
Her career pursuits include commissions, corporate partnerships, collaborations with other artists, trade consultants, and interior designers, as well as exhibitions in unconventional venues.
You can find her on her website https://www.colordesignstudio.com/
Instagram: @tinas_art_beat
https://www.instagram.com/tinas_art_beat/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-alberni/
(*) NOTE
Marfan syndrome is an inherited disorder that affects the connective tissue, which is the fibers that support and hold organs and other structures in the body. It frequently affects the heart, eyes, blood vessels, and skeleton.
Individuals with this syndrome are typically tall and slender, and their arms, legs, toes, and fingers are unusually long. The damage caused by Marfan syndrome can range from mild to severe. If the aorta is affected, the condition can be life-threatening.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/marfan-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20350782
Anabelle Yánes
She worked as a journalist in Venezuela until 2002 in the areas of economy, finance, and business. Later, she started a venture for the production of handmade jams and sweets.
In 2008, she participated in the "Concurso Ideas" and ranked among the top five projects out of 730 participants for the concept of a network of artisanal producers. The venture was successful and lasted until 2019 when production and sales were halted due to the economic crisis in Venezuela.
She worked as a journalist in Venezuela until 2002 in the areas of economy, finance, and business. Later, she started a venture for the production of handmade jams and sweets.
In 2008, she participated in the "Concurso Ideas" and ranked among the top five projects out of 730 participants for the concept of a network of artisanal producers. The venture was successful and lasted until 2019 when production and sales were halted due to the economic crisis in Venezuela.
In parallel, she worked as a teacher during this period.
Currently, she is returning to journalism and embarking on a new stage of writing children's stories.
She lives in the United States.
