Photo Credit: Claudia Escobar.
Biography
Palén Obesa [Paloma Leida Natividad Obergh Santos] sprouted in the fertile lands of the Dominican Republic and was later transplanted to NYC during their formative years. They received a BFA in Painting and Drawing from SUNY Purchase in 2017, but has since specialized in printmaking as their primary medium of expression. Working under the mentorship of various established master printers, Obesa’s work attempts to communicate the profound difficulties in the intersectionality of their existence, offering a visual narrative that transcends language.
Obesa's work has been exhibited in multiple venues throughout New York, Texas, and their home country. Some of these include the Bronx Council on the Arts, Loisaida Inc. Center, La Peña Gallery (in Austin, TX), HACO NYC and Gitler_____& Gallery. She participated in the printmaking collective, Consejo Grafico Nacional, as a guest artist for the print portfolios, Perro Mundo/Raw World (2019) and Los Americans: same=different (2022), representing sfernandez Press & Taller and Coronado printstudio respectively.
Beyond their role as an active artist, Obesa plays a pivotal role in the realm of arts administration, dedicating themself to supporting fellow artists and organizations that celebrate and uplift the Latinx diaspora. Obesa’s growing interest in arts administration has led them to participate in various constructive opportunities, such as the NALAC Leadership Institute Fellowship and CCCADI Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellowship. Through their work, they strive to create spaces that empower artists and amplify the voices of those whose narratives are often marginalized.
Artist Statement
My work aims to redeem the unpleasant phenomena of life by reinforcing our relationship with nature. I draw analogies from flora and fauna to compare our ever-changing condition and thus recognize pain, trauma, and death as integral principles of all organic matter. The printmaking medium serves as a vehicle to reaffirm this reality, because its reductive process mirrors the essence of our existence. Just as a print emerges through the intentional consumption of the material, our own development unveils through the inevitable cycles of change and decay.
Using nature as a reference point, I also analyze the intricate ways in which human influence shapes what we deem "inherent" within society. By scrutinizing the mechanisms of religion, culture, politics, and the media, I seek to unravel the profound impact these forces wield in molding behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs to align with the particular preferences of selected groups. I navigate the tension between societal norms and individual convictions, inviting viewers to reflect on the malleability of “right” and “wrong” within the ever-shifting landscapes of humanity. This subsequently explores philosophical questions surrounding the existence of purpose, justice and morality in nature.
CV
PALÉN OBESA
Born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Lives and works in Bronx, NY
palenobesa@gmail.com
EDUCATION
2017 BFA Painting and Drawing, the State University of New York at Purchase College
RESIDENCIES
2023 Artist Residency, Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA), Woodland, CA
2019-2020 Chashama Space to Connect Residency, New York, NY
2018 NYC Audubon Society on Governors Island Artist Residency, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023
Across Imaginary Boundaries, curated by Haifa Bint-Kadi, Riverfront Art Gallery at Yonkers Public Library, NY
2022
Ideas/Variations, presented by Coronado Print Room, Austin, TX
Creating Home: Immigrant Perspectives, presented by the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), New York, NY
Censored PRIDE Arts!, curated by Alexandra Jamieson, New York, NY
El ojo del grabado, co-curated by Leonardo Durán and Humberto Grullón Morel, Palacio Consistorial de Santiago, Santiago, Dominican Republic
El ojo del grabado, co-curated by Leonardo Durán and Humberto Grullón Morel, Casa de la Cultura de Puerto Plata, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
FEM-FORMATION, curated by Natalie de Jesús, BronxArtSpace, Bronx, NY
International Women’s Day, Celebrating Women through the Arts, curated by Cecilia Colomé, La Peña Gallery, Austin, TX
No Nature, curated by Rachel Sydlowski, Longwood Art Gallery | Bronx Council on the Arts, Bronx, NY
2021
Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Collective Exhibit & Altares, curated by Dolores García, La Peña Gallery, Austin, TX
Canary in the Coal Mine: The People's Art of Protest, curated by Garón Willie, Clio Art Fair, New York, NY
De tierra, semillas y nuevos ciclos, curated by Daniel Djruo-Goiricelaya (El Patio de mi Casa), La Ventana 533, New York, NY
Interpretations in Texture, curated by Tiffanee Thompson, BxArtFactory/Studio 13 Virtual Gallery, Bronx, NY
In the meanwhile…, curated by Yoko Suetsugu, HACO NYC, Brooklyn, NY
2020
De Santos, Miedos y Otros Hechizos, curated by Daniel Djruo-Goiricelaya (EL PATIO DE MI CASA), La Ventana 533, New York, NY
SPARK, curated by Olivia Beens and Arcadia Reyes-Caraballo (Harlem Art Walk), El Barrio's Artspace PS109, New York, NY
Editions/Artists’ Books Fair (E/AB Fair 2020), courtesy of Coronado printstudio, Lower East Side Printshop, New York, NY
Through the Roof: from Declaration to Independence, curated by Daniel Djruo-Goiricelaya (EL PATIO DE MI CASA), La Ventana 533, New York, NY
Pressed Narratives, curated by Alexis Mendoza, BxArts Factory, Bronx, NY
2019
4th LATINX Art Fair: Dominican York Prints, curated by Pepe Coronado, Moses Ros, and Palén Obesa, SMV Gallery, New York, NY
NY Latin American Art Triennial Print Salon, curated by Carlos Jesús Martínez Domínguez, Boricua College Art Gallery, New York, NY
A Response to 45, curated by Carlos Jesús Martínez Domínguez, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), New York, NY
Coronado printstudio Collective Show, curated by Carlos Jesús Martínez Domínguez, The East Harlem Culture Collective, New York, NY
Pasado y Presente: Art after the Young Lords, curated by Libertad Guerra, The Loisaida Center, New York, NY
Who Do You Say You Are? Approaches to Portraiture Then and Now, curated by Ruth Osborne, Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, New York, NY
2018
Open Studio 2019, co-curated by Pepe Coronado and Palén Obesa, Coronado printstudio, New York, NY
3rd LATINX Art Fair: DR/PR Collects, Supporting Dominican and Puerto Rican Artists, curated by Jose Vidal, Yelaine Rodríguez, Kiara Rodríguez and Pepe Coronado, SMV Gallery, New York, NY
Light & Shadow, curated by Yoko Suetsugu, HACO NYC, Brooklyn, NY
the way i see it, curated by Yoko Suetsugu, HACO NYC, Brooklyn, NY
repetition|singularity, co-curated by Pepe Coronado and Autumn Kioti, Gitler_____& Gallery, New York, NY
2017
Painting and Drawing Senior Show, co-curated by Alex Bresalier and Victoria Ottomano, Visual Art Department at Purchase College, Purchase, NY
Dug Up: Feeling Hungry, curated by Keisha Prioleau-Martin, Art Forum Space at Purchase College, Purchase, NY
2016
SUNY Albany Student Art Show, Albany, NY
The Tick-Tock, Ding-Dong, Swing-Swang and Everything Repetitive Show, curated by Hilary Doyle, Visual Art Department at Purchase College, Purchase, NY
PRESS/PUBLICATIONS
News 12 Hudson Valley: Across Imaginary Boundaries' exhibit highlights Caribbean Artists, by Nadia Galindo, September 25, 2023
Mott Haven Herald: Bronx Council on the Arts Hosts Closing Reception for "No Nature" Exhibit, by Rizwana Zafer, March 5, 2022
Exposición en honor a artistas mujeres en el alto Manhattan, by Spectrum Noticias NY1 Manhattan, April 6, 2022
Interview: Interpretations in Texture Curatorial Conversations with Tiffanee Thompson, BxArts Factory, January 29, 2021
AWARDS, HONORS, & COMMISSIONS
2022 US Latinx Art Forum (USLAF) Artist Mentorship Program Recipient
2021 Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) Innovative Cultural Advocacy (ICA) Fellowship, New York, NY
2020 12 x 6 ft. banner installed at The Rockefeller University's gates, commissioned by the Rockefeller Inclusive Science Initiative (RISI), New York, NY
2019 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures|Leadership Institute, San Antonio, TX