Cristina Clarimón Art Gallery
 
Cristina Clarimon was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Having been away for too long, the memory of her previous life is slowly abandoning her. In her artwork she freezes in time small bits and pieces of the unraveling memories. They speak of disappointments, distance and time. Layered recollections that blend into each other in a sea of faces, voices, ghosts... Clarimon attended the Escuela de Bellas Artes at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and briefly at the Art Institute of Chicago. She holds a BFA and a Master's in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. Clarimon's work has been shown in galleries in New Mexico, Florida, Oregon, California, Canada and Europe. Her mixed media collages are in private collections around the world. Clarimon is currently involved in a project that will introduce emerging Spanish artists to the American public and has coordinated several exhibitions of their work, which can be viewed online at www.arthaus66.com
Initially, I felt reluctant to use collage as my main form of expression. My training in Spain was very classical in both drawing and painting and I was also aware of the marginal status that collage held in contrast to other disciplines. I incorporated collage into my work in a very gradual way and, each time, the results were more and more pleasing to me. It seemed such a natural way of working for me.
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I became interested in collage when I came across the work of Hannah Höch and Kurt Schwitters. Modest in their means, (scraps of newspapers and daily ephemera) their images were sharper and more powerful than anything I’d seen before. Later I was enamored by the work of Max Ernst and by Joseph Cornell’s exquisite constructions. I also like Richard Hamilton’s quirky and humorous interior views of the typical 1950’s American home.