Gathering Nature Print

Kristina (Thalin) Florez was born into the world of art. Her father first noticed her artistic tendencies when she would prefer to use her SpaghettiO's sauce as a drawing medium rather than eat it. Ever since she can remember, she knew she was meant to be an artist. She continued to pursue her dream on a full scholarship at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, Georgia, where she received her B.F.A. in painting. Kristina works in several types of media such as: painting, drawing, mixed media, and installation work. Her work has been shown in multiple group exhibitions in Florida, New York, and Georgia. Kristina is a native of South Florida, and can never be too far from a beach. She loves being outdoors and is fascinated by the concept of chaos—order we do not yet understand—she creates work that mimics patterns found within nature. Through her artwork, viewers explore the order within the organic, and the more time spent examining the details in the work, the less chaotic it appears to be. ARTIST STATEMENT Humans are the only ones on earth with the ability to question, dig deep, and desire to get to the heart of things. We strive to find the source…the nucleus of truth. We were given the ability in our DNA to explore what truth might be. It is a never-ending excavation: a cycle of breaking down and rebuilding possible answers and outcomes. What separates us from all other animals is, we question ourselves and our actions. Animals follow instinct without investigation. We have the ability to go against our instincts….sometimes to our own quietus, but sometimes for the greater good. We possess the organic knack to create order out of chaos; not to simply react to an experience, but adapt, utilize, and transform. We do not need to succumb to our circumstances, or be a victim to forces around us. We have the power to observe, fight, destroy, and rebuild. Since the beginning of humanity, we were made for this. A recurring motif in my work is the circle, or cell, while respecting dimension. It is a perfect example of how our world is in a balance, and an ever-revolving point of perspective. To microorganisms, our bodies are a world; to our galaxy, we are the single-cells; and greater yet, the galaxy is one of countless threads that weave our universe. If you examine an iris under a microscope, and you behold a galaxy through a telescope, they appear to be one and the same: reflections of one another.