Paola de la Calle
Paola de la Calle is a Colombian-American interdisciplinary artist whose work examines home, borders, identity, and nostalgia. Her practice is a multidisciplinary exploration that ties together her family’s migration, personal memories, as well as historical and political narratives through the use of digitally printed textiles, relief printmaking, and collage. In her work De la Calle explores how borders manifest themselves as political monuments derived from a legacy of colonialism by addressing subjects such as food justice, immigration, and resistance. Her practice often manifests itself in the exploration of maps and everyday objects she defines as cultural artifacts. Through this investigation, De la Calle tackles assumptions about migration and displacement by combining quotidian imagery and Spanglish poetry to present ideas about cultural elasticity.
Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States at Crosstown Arts, Nave Gallery, Jay Etkin Gallery, Root Division, Galeria de la Raza, Compound Gallery, 440 Gallery, and SOMArts. She is a graduate of the New York Foundation of the Arts Immigrant Artist Program in 2019 and a current artist in residence at Galeria de la Raza. Her work has been published in Mujerista Co. issues III and IV and Graphite Journal. Her studio practice has been featured on Hyperallergic’s “A View from the Easel”.
She is currently based in San Francisco, CA.
Imports, Exports, and Legacies (2020), Collage on archival National Geographic map, 36x23 in.
Banana Still Life (Who Stole the Banana?), 2019, Relief print on cream archival matte paper, 18x12 inch, Edition of 5, Signed and numbered
The Scent Distance Carries, 2019, 12x12 in, Archival Matte Print, Edition of 10
Quiero Una Casa (I Want a House), 2021 thread, fringe, and digitally printed cotton on canvas with raw edge, 21x18in.
Flores de la Calle, 2019, Relief print on archival matte paper, 18x12 in, Edition of 5, Signed and numbered