Chelo Matesanz

CHELO MATESANZ (Reinosa, Cantabria,1964).
"Samson and the invisible man" 2019.
Ceramic, gold enamel, mirror, DM iron, silk tie and synthetic hair.
Work exhibited in "Things that make Clac. Ceramics in art". Centre del Carme, Valencia.
Measurements: 50 x 41 x 31 cm.

"Samson and the invisible man" embodies the spirit of Chelo Matesanz: a work that uses humor and artistic craftsmanship to talk about serious issues (the representation of the body, strength, gender and visibility). The pink hair is a reference to Samson's strength but transfigured into feminine power. The golden surface refers to idolatry or vanity, but also to artifice: the bright and shiny can be a mask.

In her works, Chelo Matesanz inserts and assembles objects and textiles, configuring her chromatic palette through the diversity of pigmented fabrics joined with the traditional technique of stitching and backstitching. Her works are part of the so-called Textile Art. Her three-dimensional work responds in some cases to social issues with a poetic language, social commitment and feminist content. Her work is conceived from humor, enjoyment and curiosity.

Chelo Matesanz shares her artistic work with her work as a teacher at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Pontevedra in Galicia. She graduated in Fine Arts in 1989, specializing in Audiovisuals and Painting at the University of the Basque Country PV/EHU. In 1994 he obtained a PhD in Fine Arts at the same university (thesis: The rhetorical use of the object. Analysis and experimentation).

He has made numerous exhibitions in the Spanish state, developing his exhibition career both in Cantabria, his community of birth, and in Galicia where he develops his teaching career.

In this extensive article in Página Alternativa, vacarizu.es, in 2011, Juan Carlos Román published with several illustrations about Matesanz's poetics, describing both his work and the titles that define it.

According to his words in the interview conducted by the artist María Bueno in the magazine of the Asociación Mujeres en las Artes Visuales, MAV, M Arte y Cultura Visual: "I share creation and teaching almost equally. In fact, both are linked and feed back in such a way that I could not say anything to my students if I did not have an experience in the workshop. Shortly after finishing my training in Fine Arts I began to teach at the faculty of Pontevedra, so the experience, teaching and learning art for me are almost the same thing.

There have been numerous group exhibitions in relevant institutions, in contemporary art galleries and in various fairs over the years such as the one held in Madrid ARCO. In 2012, at the Musac museum in León, I was part of the historical exhibition "Feminist Genealogies in Spanish Art" curated by Patricia Mayayo and Juan Vicente Aliaga.