Touching the Surface: Drawing in Latin America
This course is designed to get students acquainted with foundational drawing techniques while also exploring different artists and artistic movements in Latin America who have redefined the medium through their own contexts and approaches to experimentation. We will study artists such as Lygia Clark, Belkis Ayón, Carmen Herrera, Beatriz González, Marisol, María Izquierdo, Felipe Baez, and Teresita Fernandez and unpack artistic movements that shape Latin American art as we know it today which span from around the 14th century to art being made today. Throughout the course, we will question what is considered Latin American and expand our geographical delineations that include Latinx American artists who bring their ancestral histories with them beyond borders and tongues. Dry and wet media will be used as well as some basic sculptural techniques to get a better understanding on the volumetric qualities of depicting space and figures. Students will learn foundational drawing skills such as composition, scale, negative/positive space, contour lines, tonal values, line quality, and personal style. There will be regular class critiques.

Estefania Puerta Grisales is a recent recipient of the 2024 Rome Prize in Visual Arts and has exhibited internationally. She graduated from Yale School of Art in 2018 and currently lives and works in Burlington, Vermont./