Spotlight on Local Artist, Gloria Langer!

Local artist Gloria Langer was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1965, and studied Graphic Design working in this industry for nearly 20 years. Through living and traveling in various countries, she experienced and enjoyed different cultures. Since she moved to the U.S. in 2012, she has translated the themes and concerns of current life into artistic expression. She had her first solo exhibit in 2016, at the Burton Barr Library with “Facts of Life”, and a second show, “Vainglory” at the Walter Gallery in 2018. Her work has been represented in the American Art Collector, The Vortex Magazine, and Articulate.

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What is a type of material you like to use in your mixed media pieces and why do you like working with it?

"In my mixed media pieces I use many cutouts from magazines and recycled materials. I love to use corrugated cardboard from secondary packaging that supply interesting structures that I use as the bases for my collages for an extra level of complexity."

 

Do you find yourself using any recurring aspects in your work?

“I recur thematically to different aspects of the same ideas. I’m mostly interested in currently relevant themes like environment, equality, and other social issues. I find myself repeatedly using certain visual elements that create a symbolic language recognizable throughout my work. It is an evolving process.”

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Is there a subject or a place that you find particularly inspiring?

“Urban spaces and their inhabitants are always a great source of inspiration for me. I love big cities and their diversity, complexity, and dynamics that supply infinite themes, ideas, and stories that are just waiting to be told.”

 

Have you noticed any changes in the local arts scene recently?

“Locally, it is hard to miss the proliferation of murals everywhere in the city. Thankfully, these are also becoming thematically more relevant. They are an important channel for art and pop culture in Phoenix and a way to bring art to a broader public. It would be wonderful to see other types of artistic expression expand in the same way.”

 
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What was the inspiration for this piece?

“Still Life” is about the many challenges of modern times. Real struggles and the intrusiveness of over-information are overbearing and oppressive. This piece is about redemption and our capacity for evasion from a confining and chaotic space where normality becomes impossible. Liberation and a return to oneself are still achievable.”

If you are interested in more details or purchasing any of Gloria Langer’s work, please send us an email at gallery@thewalterhive.org!