Poli Marichal
Ponce, PR, 1956
Biography Details
Printmaker, filmmaker and illustrator. Obtained a Bachelor's degree in Art with a concentration in Printmaking from Escuela de Artes Plasticas in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Afterwards, she finished a Master's degree in Art from the Massachusetts College of Art. Throughout her long career she has received several grants and awards of which, the Rockefeller Foundation Grant in 1992 and in 2008 a Grant from the Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Department in California, stand out. Her work has been exhibited both individually and collectively in biennials, fairs and galleries in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Europe. She is a founding member of Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective, an artist’s collective that has exhibited internationally. Her work combines Expressionism and Symbolism, Realism and Fantasy to create images that converge to generate a discourse on the human condition.
Artist Statement
My goal as an artist is to create suggestive and expressive works that go beyond mere surface and content and take me into the realm of the uncharted. I feel I'm most successful when the work reveals new possibilities I had not anticipated.
I usually attack the chosen surface - wood, linoleum, copper sheets, canvas or paper- directly. For me the process is as important as the end result and I like the freedom and risk involved in letting go.
My prints, paintings and mixed media works explore two predominant tendencies that sometimes coalesce and sometimes manifest themselves separately: my interest in expressing social, political and environmental concerns and a more introspective and primal desire to explore my personal visions.
Tree-like and organic forms often populate my more personal works. Trees have a deep significance for me. They are symbols of our need to be rooted and safe but also of our desire to transcend our limitations and branch out into the cosmos.
Printmaking is my favorite medium because it allows for endless experimentation and configurations. It is also the utmost democratic art form.
I often print variations using the same plate. This method allows for wonderful explorations and learning experiences that enrich and expand my range as an artist.
Currently, I'm creating works where I combine printmaking and encaustic on Japanese paper. A wondrous translucence is achieved by applying wax to the print. This technique can also be adapted to create sculptured paper forms. I'm only beginning to explore the possibilities this new method offers.
Source: www.polimarichal.com
Formation
Education
1982
- Master’s of Fine Arts, major in Experimental Film. Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
1979
- City Lit, London, England
1977
- Bachelor's of Fine Arts, major in Printmaking. Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1976
- Escola Massana, Barcelona, Spain
Experiencia Profesional
2006
- Printmaking Professor. Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center, California, United States
- Curator. “Self-Help Graphics Revisited”, Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center Gallery, California, United Sates
2002
- Monotype Professor. Self-help Graphics, Los Angeles, California, United States
2000
- Monotype Workshop. Riverside Museum, California, United States
1996
- Video Workshop. Color United, Los Angeles, California, United States
1984-1985
- Film animation Professor. Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1983-1987
- Graphic designer and animator. Visual Communications Co. San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2009
- Sleepwalking in Los Angeles, Trópico de Nopal Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
2003
- Trópico fecundo, Galería La Pintadera, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Cosmic Trees, Winged Messengers and Others Obsessions, Espresso Mi Cultura Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
1998
- Íconos, Duey Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1997
- Cosmogonía Personal, Liga de Estudiantes de Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1993
- New Works, Galería Coabey, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1987
- Poli Marichal: Films from Puerto Rico, Alliance Film/Video Project, Miami Dade Public Library, Miami, Florida, United States
Colectivas
2013
- The Boston Printmakers 2013 North American Print Biennial, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- La Xilografia, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, California, United States
- The Print Exchange 2013, Graphic Arts Workshop, San Francisco, California; Robert Blackburn Printshop, New York, United States
- 7 Beauties, Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park, California, United States
- In Colab, print portfolios by Members of Consejo Grafico, Taller Boricua Gallery, New York, United States
- Behind Bars, Los de Abajo Printmaking, Social and Public Art Resource Center, Venice, California, United States
- Santitos Print Portfolio produced by Arceo Press, Charles & Dorothy Clark Gallery, University of Texas- Pan American, Edinburg, Texas, United States
- Boyle Heights: Arte, Vida y Amor, LAC + USC Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Print: Democracy in Art and Life, Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos Verdes, California, United States
- Peter Liashkov with Friends, LA Artcore Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Man, Machine and Nature, Detroit to LA, LA Print Space, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
2012
- Pacific States Biennial National Exhibition, University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii, United States
- The People Of Paper, New Figuration from the Serie Project, Latino Cultural Center, Dallas, Texas, United States
- Sea Of Exchange, LA Print Space, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Man, Machine, & Nature, Sisson Gallery, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan, United States
- Consejo Gráfico, Moreau Art Galleries, St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
- Exchange 8, PrintZero Studios, Seattle, Washington, United States
- Rock, Paper, Scissors, Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Los De Abajo Printmaking Collective, Social and Public Art Resource Center, Venice, California, United States
- Imagining Women, Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Alfredo Zalce, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico; Casa Michoacan Gallery, Chicago. Illinois, United States
- Santitos, traveling exhibition, Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, Illinois;
- Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois; Noyes Cultural Art Center, Evanston, Illinois; Atelier International Art Gallery, Corpus Christi, Texas, United States; Casa de los Tres Mundos, Granada, Nicaragua; Galería David Alfaro Siqueiros, Escuela Popular de Bellas Artes, Universidad Michoacana, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
- A Presión / Under Pressure, prints from Consejo Grafico, Taller Boricua, New York, United States
2011
- Santitos, print portfolio, 2nda Muestra Internacional de Gráfica, Salón de la Gráfica del IMAC,
- Durango, México
- Recuerdos Vividos, El Camino College Art Gallery, Torrance, California, United States
- Arceo Press’s Print Portfolios, Fergusson Art Gallery, Concordia University, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Beyond Impressions, Morono Kiang Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Linda Arreola, Poli Marichal, Marianne Sadowski, CiCi Gonzalez Segura, Tropico de Nopal
- Gallery-Art Space, Los Angeles, California, United States
- En Papel Contemporary Latino Printmakers, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, California, United States
- Wall Power limitless prints, Brand Library Galleries, Glendale, California, United States
- For the Birds, site specific installations, Audubon Center at Debs Park, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Southern California Printmaking, Palos Verdes Art Center, California, United States
2010
- Cross-Pollination, The Art of Collaboration, El Camino College Art Gallery, Torrance, California, United States
- Expanding the Matrix, Weingart Gallery, Occidental College, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Viva La Revolución, Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural, Sylmar, California, United States
- Hybrids, Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park, California, United States
2009
- Los Angeles Printmaking Society, 20th National Exhibition, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
- La Lucha Por La Identidad/Puerto Rican Artists Struggle For Identity, Akus Gallery, Eastern
- Connecticut State University, Connecticut, United States
- Brand 38, Works on Paper, Brand Library Art Gallery, Glendale, California, United States
- Man’s Inhumanity To Man, Brand Library Art Gallery, Glendale, California, United States
- Dibujos: Emergency Landing, Tropico de Nopal Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Women Artists On Immigration, Crossing Borders, Confronting Barriers, Bridging Identities, Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Creando Fuerza, Cambio y Permanencia, Consejo Gráfico exhibition, Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas, United States
- Contemporary Ex-Votos, Avenue 50 Studio Gallery, Highland Park, California, United States
- Caras Vemos, Corazones No Sabemos: The Human Landscape of Mexican Migration, Fowler Museum, California; Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee; Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
- Intercontinental Biennial of Small Graphics, Aid, Romania
- Entijuanarte 2008, Centro Cultural de Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
- Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective, collaborative prints, El Nopal Press, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Ménage à trois, Poli Marichal, Marianne Sadowski, Víctor Rosas, Boccalero Gallery, Self-Help Graphics & Art, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Creando Fuerza Portfolio, Consejo Gráfico member ateliers, El Taller Boricua Gallery, New York, United States
- Oppressed X-pressions, prints about migration in the 21st Century, Pasadena City College Library, Pasadena, California, United States
- Drawing the Line, Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park, California, United States
- Prints from the Collection, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Persistencia en el grabado en Puerto Rico, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Sacred Memory: Honoring the Dead Across Cultures, Pico House Gallery, El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, Los Angeles, California, United States
- H20 Inc. – on the issue of water- new prints by Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective, Karen Boccalero Gallery, Self-Help Graphics, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Latino Heritage Month Exhibition, Los Angeles City Hall East, Los Angeles, California, United States
- 12 Artists/24 Ideas, Avenue 50 Studio Gallery, Highland Park, California, United States
- Beautiful Deceptions, Erotica by Women, Avenue 50 Studio Gallery, Highland Park, California, United States
- Frida, Bi-National Art Exhibit, Casa de la 9 Arte, Tijuana, Baja California, México
2006
- Contemporary Nacimientos, Avenue 50 Gallery, Highland Park, California, United States
- Oppressed Expressions, Images About Migration in the 21st Century, Karen Boccalero Gallery, Self-Help Graphics & Art, Los Ángeles, California, United States
- Intercontinental Biennial of Small Graphics, Aiud, Romania
- Caras Vemos, Corazones No Sabemos/Faces Seen, Hearts Unknown – The Human Landscape of Mexican Migration, Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
- Puro Muerto, Contemporary Imagery of Day of the Dead, Central Library, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Self-Help Graphics Revisited, Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center, Manhattan Beach, California, United States
- Collective Memory, Memoria Colectiva, SolArt Gallery, Santa Ana, California, United States
- The New Normalcy: Artists Examine the Post 9-11 World, Carlotta’s Pasion and Fine Art, Eagel Rock, California, United States
- Yo! What Happened to Peace?, a travelling exhibition of anti-war posters, The Binary Mine, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Autocontemplación – Autoretratos en Pintura, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Don’t talk about religion or politics, Ave. 50 Gallery, Highland Park, California, United States
- Rewind, rewind…, four decades of experimental film & video, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2005
- Transfourmations, 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, California, United States
- Prints from La Mano Press, Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, California, United States
- Yo! What Happened to Peace?, a travelling exhibition of anti-war posters, PARCO Museum, Japan
- Artist Base Klink, Og Bank, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Leoncavallo, Milan, Italy
2004
- Exodus Graphicus, Casa del Libro, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 1” x1”, Transport Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Yo! What Happened to Peace?, a travelling exhibition of anti-war posters, Transport Gallery, Los Angeles, California; Punch Gallery, San Francisco, California; Zeitgeist Gallery, Cambridge, Massachussets; Stay Gold Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, United States
- La Mano Press inaugural exhibition, La Mano Press, Los Angeles, California, United States
2003
- La Mano Press 1st Anniversary Print Exhibition, Avenue 50 Studio Gallery, Highland Park, California, United States
- Muestra Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Carteles de Película –El cartel cinematográfico en Puerto Rico, Museo Universitario
- Dr. Pío López Martínez, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus, Cayey, Puerto Rico
- Visions, Dreams and Metaphors –Seven Women painters, Trópico de Nopal Gallery, Los Ángeles, California, United States
- Ni Una Más –artist collective denouncing the Ciudad Juarez Women Murders and violence against women, Instituto de Cultura de Guanajuato, Ciudad León, Mexico
- Cultural Connections – The African Spirit in Latin America, The Mexican Heritage Plaza Museum, San Jose, California, United States
2002
- Moon Quartet/Cuarteto de Luna- Four Women Painters, Trópico de Nopal Gallery, Los Ángeles, California, United States
- Guateque/Guasábara – The Puerto Rican Experience Through Art, Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park, California, United States
- Reactions, Exit Art Gallery, New York, United States
2001
- Twelve Artists Featured in the Bread and Roses Cultural Art Project Calendar, Gallery 1199/SEIU, New York, United States
- Prints from Self-Help Graphics, Los Ángeles Central Library and Self-Help Graphics, Los Ángeles, California, United States
2000
- From the Heart: Prints from Self-Help Graphics, Riverside Art Museum, California, United States
- Big as Life, An American History of 8mm Films, Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States
1999
- Prints from Self-Help Graphics, Galería de la Ciudad, Instituto Cultural de Baja California, Mexico
- El Grabado en Puerto Rico, Centro Cultural Casa Vallarta, Guadalajara, Mexico
1996
- El Grabado en Relieve, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1993
- La Voz de la Mujer: Contemporary Latina Artists, Visual Studies Workshop Gallery, New York, United States
- Latinas Make Cinema, Latin American Film Festival, The Duke- UNC Program in Latin American Studies, North Carolina, United States
1991
- Latin American Exhibit, The Brush Art Gallery, Lowell, Massachusetts, United States
1990
- Screening of the film, A Story of the Three Wise Men, American Film Institute at Kennedy Center, Washington DC, United States
1989
- Two Worlds in Drawing, Galería Francisco Oller, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1988
- International Forum of Super 8, Exit Art Gallery, New York, United States
- Latino Images, Deep Dish T.V. Network Special, New York, United States
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2013
- Grant. LA Freewaves Out the Window Project, Rauchenberg Foundation Grantee, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Residency. Social and Public Art Resource Center, Venice, California, United States
2012
- Residency. Social and Public Art Resource Center, Venice, California, United States
- Residency. The Serie Project, Austin, Texas, United States
2009
- Third Prize in Print. Beverly Hills Affaire in the Gardens Art Fair, Beverly Hills, California, United States
2008
- Residency. Maestras Atelier, Self-Help Graphics & Art, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Arts Grant co-recipient. Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Department, California, United States
2006
- Best Director. World Cinema, Phoenix International Film Festival, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
- Prize. "Rewind, rewind, four decades of experimental film & video", International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999
- Chosen to showcase two of her experimental films in the Big as Life: An American History of 8mm Films retrospective. Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States
1995
- Grant. Fondo Permanente para el Financiamiento del Quehacer Cultural, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Best Short Film Award. San Juan Cinemafest, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1994
- Grant. Hispanic Film Project, Universal Pictures, United States
1992
- Media Arts Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation, United States
1988
- Grant. Massachusetts Council for the Arts, Massachusetts, United States
1987
- Best Short Film Award. San Antonio Film Festival, San Antonio, Texas, United States
1985
- Best Film Award. Festival del Nuevo Cine, Caracas, Venezuela
1984
- Best Film Award. Festival international du nouveau cinéma et de la vidéo de Montréal, Quebec, Canada
1974
- Scholarship, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. Tableau and Polychrome Technics, Escola Massana de Barcelona, Barcelona , España
Collections
- California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, California, United States
- Donald C. Davidson Library, University of Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Huntington Museum, West Virginia, Virginia, United States
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, United States
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Orange County Art Museum, Newport Beach, California, United States
- Self-Help Graphics and Art in East, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
- The Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States
- The Gerald Buck Collections, Mexican Fine Art Center Museum, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Mexican Fine Arts Museum, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- History and Art, Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
- Galería Sin Fronteras, Austin, Texas, United States
- The Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, New York, United States
Bibliography
Catalogues
"Big As Life, An American History of 8mm Films”, The Museum of Modern Art, Nueva York, Estados Unidos, 1999.
“Caras Vemos, Corazones No Sabemos/Faces Seen, Hearts Unknown – The Human Ldscape of Mexican Migration”, Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, Estados Unidos, 2006.
“El Portafolio en la Gráfica Puertorriqueña”, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1995.
“Ex-Libris, El Libro Como Propuesta Estética”, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1994.
“Film/Video Multimedia Update”, The Rockefeller Foundation, Estados Unidos, 2001.
“Rewind…Rewind… Video Arte Puertorriqueño”, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2006.
Autocontemplación – Autoretratos en Pintura (Self-Portraits in Painting), Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2006.
“El Grabado en Puerto Rico”, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1999.
Newspapers
“Images, centerfold spread”, The San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), 1991.
“Marichal expone sus retablos”, Diálogo (San Juan, PR), 1997.
“Poli Marichal returns to show her past”, The San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), 1993.
“Poli y sus cosmogonías”, El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 1997.