Meet Fernanda Uribe – Horta | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fernanda Uribe – Horta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fernanda, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
I personally dislike the word success as it means different things to different people. To me, success is a momentary place of contentment and stability. Success hence fluctuates and my feelings toward what it means to be successful are in constant modification as I grow.

Being an artist is pretty much a decision you have to make everyday. You aren’t just an artist, you are a collection of a series of talents and you can choose to employ all or some of those instead of just being one “definition” of a character.
Most days I’m the artist but other days I’m a teacher, a model, a dancer, a floral designer… Being an artist is showing up for yourself to yourself since there is no one waiting or expecting anything from you. The second most important decision I have to make everyday is to listen to my heart, dissect my dreams and to make a plan on how to make the art happen. Nothing will make sense if I don’t allow myself to follow my ideas, obsessions, wonders. I study, analyze and investigate how things can make sense and try to translate it into a language of its own. Then when the work starts flowing in, working doesn’t feel like a job. It is a flow of outpouring and inpouring, a good balance.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work is an exploration of dreams, imaginary landscapes, myths and memories of the places I have visited and lived in. I have very vivid dreams, at times I can even wake up, and fall back asleep and find a way to re-dream or continue my dream as if nothing had happened. Many of my imagery comes from that oneiric world. Colors, shapes, creatures and emotions are created in my subconscious and come to life within my paintings and sculptures. I like to think of my work as 3-dimensional paintings where the back part of a sculpture is still in narrative with the front. My canvas is made of clay and I am excited about this fluidity between dimensions and how a painting can turn into a functional piece or an installation to the senses.

Getting to the place I am now has been through discipline, following my heart and taking risks. The hardships, the lack of funds, the loneliness, the getting lost, making mistakes and depression all part of the process. I believe there is nothing more valuable than believing in the work, believing in yourself, not from an egotistic, anthropocentric view but from the desire to express, share, dialogue and commune through art.
When you realize art in any/all of its forms is your way, nothing will bring satisfaction as our brains are constantly searching, analyzing, hunting for something more. As a mathematician can see numbers, I see and feel in colors.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Day one:

Breakfast at Five leaves, McCaren park.
morning visit to Noguchi Museum
Lunch: quick taco stop Tacos No. 1
visit Galleries in Tribeca/Broadway/LES
stop at Dante for a Spritz or a Martini
taste NYC Katz Deli

Day two:

Breakfast at Lexignton Candy Shop (gorgeous oldschool diner)
Metropolitan Museum
Coffee /lunch at Cafe Sabarsky
Walk Central park a bit
dinner & live Jazz @ tommijazz

Day three:
Farmers market at union square, get breakfast and fresh produce
Stop at Strand Bookstore
Got to Washington Square park, hang and if its spring its majestic with flowers and fountain.
Museum of Natural History: Gilder center for science
dinner at Kikis the greek in China Town
drinks at 169 bar

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Jerry Saltz I met him this year at one of his talks and is one fo the most inspiring supporters of artsits and art. his book How to be an artist is a must read.

Website: www.fernandauribe.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fernanda___uribe/?hl=en

Image Credits
photos by Jesse Ilan Kornbluth & myself