Krissya Iraheta

she/her

My practice is influenced by sexuality and trauma – both personal and generational trauma relating to my experiences as a Latin American woman. Fusing pop-surrealism, allegorical realism, and juxtaposition in my paintings, I hope to blur the line between high and low art by taking surrealist strategies and choosing subject matter with cultural connotation. By creating relationships between the characters and objects within my artworks, I cultivate a glimpse of an intimate world where the viewer is confronted by childhood innocence and the mysterious recesses of the adult soul. Making work that invites the viewer to stay and conjure their own narrative is important to my practice as it is a vital part of the experience.  

There is pleasure in mixing innocent imagery and colors with mature themes to create a sickly-sweet body of work that transcends beyond reality. There is an undeniable ridiculousness brought out when juxtaposing images of gore, sexual nature, childhood, and melancholy in the context of pop-surrealism. This celebration of the binaries is highlighted in my practice as I aim to toe the line between disturbing and endearing – melancholy and sarcasm. A grotesquely arousing experience.

instagram @krissaveli