Textile artist Carmen Mardonez was born in Santiago, Chile in 1988. She is the oldest of nine children with seven sisters and one brother. Her father Joaquim is an engineer and her mother, also Carmen, was a psychologist until raising her family took over. As a child, Carmen was into crafts and soon learned to sew, knit, and embroider. She studied History and Arts at the University of Chile, and earned a master’s degree in Community Psychology, also at the University of Chile. Whilst in school, Carmen volunteered at the local women’s prison and studied art therapy as a way of helping the prisoners. In 2017, she moved with her husband Paulo to Los Angeles where her dreams and aspirations to becoming a textile artist aligned with her passion for social justice. Carmen’s vibrant artwork using vivid colors seeks to radically reimagine intimate spaces of memories, dreams, and discovery. She transforms discarded textile waster such as bed sheets, pillow covers, and pillows through her labor-intensive freestyle embroidery to create provocative fabric sculptures and installations. She says: “I seek to connect with these radically intimate spaces that store memories of exploration, discovery, and suffering.” Carmen has held exhibitions across LA, at the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center, JKR Gallery, Provo, Utah, Stay at Home Gallery, Paris, TN, Oranj Studio Gallery, Portland, OR, and the Friend of a Friend Gallery, Denver, CO. Her work has also been shown in “Building Bridges Art Exchange” and “Craft Contemporary”, and has received the support of several grants, scholarships, and art residencies. Later this summer, Carmen will be relocating to Oxford, England with her husband and their six year old son Juan.

Carmen’s favorite women artists:
Sarah Plamodon
Sarah Detweiler
Amy J. Dyck
Nagu
Ash Woodworth
Bushra Gill
Tara Centybear

What does Carmen do while she’s working with fabric?
“Usually I work in silence or talking with one of my sisters/grandmas/friends by phone. Or watching something on Netflix to keep practice my English.”


Host: Chris Stafford
Produced by Hollowell Studios
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