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Alexa Cabrera

Artists series: Evelyn Politzer

Where can I see her art?

Instagram: @evelynpolitzer

"Hey, Look me Over" exhibition at Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in Coconut Grove, Florida.

Collective Exhibition at Pinecrest Gardens starting September 2024.


 

Evelyn Politzer is a visual artist from Uruguay who currently lives and works in Miami, Florida.



Her Story


"[Art] has always been a passion of mine. I did ceramic, quilt making, drawing and sculpture. Always encouraged by my mother. I never really stopped. We moved throughout the years and I always took some crafts class. I realized at a point that what I was making was sculptures so I decided to do a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. It was a very positive experience. I got to meet new people, network and it gave a sense of formality to my art."


"I have lived in Miami for 24 years and for 7 years in New York before that." We spoke about how the Latin American women artists in this interview series all have in common that they are immigrants. Evelyn tells me that "every time I go back to Uruguay people would ask me where I am from. But then, here [in the United States] they also ask me where I am from. So you realize you are from nowhere." She goes on telling me the story that "when all the talk about immigration and building a wall became front news, she tried to soften the narrative by making a hand knit and crocheted brick wall."


"My process kept evolving and I started to take more notice of the materials I was using. All the materials I use are from Uruguay. It brings me a sense of belonging to do this. To be close even though I am so far. The country has a lot of sheep and therefore wool. It is a noble and readily available material. I have always liked to use tactile materials. I have worked with antique lace in the past. If you think about it, it is women that handmade taint the threads. Anonymous women that work to make the material. I consider myself a very flexible person. My children call me a free spirit. And apparently artists that work with soft materials have this trait."


Her Work


"My mother died at the young age of 45 years from breast cancer. At the moment there was not a lot of information on the disease. I became angry and, without realizing, used knitting and crocheting boobs as my healing process. It was very informal and organic. My first exhibition was called BFFs: Breast Friends Forever. It was a way of befriending boobs again. I also had an exhibition called Spring Forward which were hand knit breasts on mattress springs. It represented how women are moving forward in art and politics." I point out there is a photo on her profile I adore, which shows her sitting on a green couch surrounded by knitted breasts. Evelyn tells me the piece is named A Throne of one's own which was a call to art she participated in based on Virginia Wolf's book 'A room to one's own' where she speaks about how she needs a space for herself.


Women's spring, 2020
A Throne of one's own, 2024 - Arts Warehouse Del Ray

Evelyn speaks of protecting nature, motherhood, nurturing, and of "giving voice to the voiceless". Tree Huggers was displayed in Pinecrest Gardens, Palm Beach and Miami Beach Botanical Garden. "This piece started over the feeling of sorrow and sadness I got after seeing the mango trees in my street being chopped off to build new houses. The trees represented the history of the neighborhood, something delicious and with sustenance."


Tree Huggers, 2022 - Miami Beach Botanical Gardens

"The Nests started a long time ago, in 2017 I did an exhibition in the Miami International Airport at the American Airlines terminal. One window [right] showcased a compilation of nests and the other window [left] showcased Every Drop Counts which were knitted drops. The Nests come from a feeling of wanting to mother everybody. Of creating a warm space."


Knitting as Poetry - Reflections on the Natural Environment, 2017-2018 at Miami International Airport
Nesting, 2022

The Ciconia Project curated by Carola Bravo showcases the work of nine female artists from across the Americas, all residing in South Florida. Evelyn says, "the Ciconia Project started in the pandemic. It is a limited series of artworks by female artists. Mine was called Free Spirit. It is a high definition print intervened with yarn." Evelyn tells me that at this moment, with the pandemic starting she "did not allow herself to think much and started painting with yarn." I am fortunate to have the series illuminating the walls of my apartment and tell her it is a pop of color in an otherwise minimalistic neutral living room. And Evelyn responds by saying, "I am always very colorful."


Free Spirit, 2022

What are you focused on now?


"I am working on a water themed sculpture, I do not know how to explain it." I guess I will have to wait and see it, I tell her. "I am also working on an exhibition at Pinecrest Gardens starting this September (2024) where the main theme is surrealism. And I have another exhibition in Coral Springs Museum coming later this year (2024)."


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