Artists Residency

Lorena Morales is a multidisciplinary visual artist currently based in Houston, Texas. Her work relates to the evolving nature of home and the significance of what this carries for an individual and their identity in a rapidly changing world. Through a variety of materials, she explores the relationship between personal and collective experiences, stories, and contexts, challenging the viewer to further discover the simultaneously positive and negative feelings surrounding home by exploring spaces that are intangible, metaphoric and psychological.

Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Morales holds certificates in painting and sculpture from the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as well as a degree in business administration. She completed the Block XIX Program at the Glassell School of Art, and was also awarded a grant by the Carlos Cruz-Diez Foundation and the Glassell School of Art for participation in an advanced seminar in contemporary art. She was one of the selected 2021/22 artists-in-residence at the L’AIR Arts Research Residency in Paris, France, and in 2023, she joined the hybrid art residency Mar Adentro at Puertas Adentro in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Morales’ work has been exhibited extensively in art galleries, nonprofit organizations, and art museums in Texas, as well as nationally and internationally, in Venezuela, France, Uruguay, and Germany. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, City of Houston’s Civic Art Collection, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and in many other public and private collections. More recently, Morales was selected as the 1^st Place winner for The Wendy Wagner Foundation 2024 Fall Trio Creative Grant. Her work is represented by Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, Texas, and Contemporaneo Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina.

To learn more about Lorena Morales, visit https://www.lorenamorales.com/.

Lorena’s residency was generously sponsored in part by Phyllis Childress.

Macon Reed is an artist working in sculpture, ceramics, installation, fibers, video, and social practice. Their work draws from participation in queer, punk, and DIY communities that experiment with how we can, and cannot, consciously shape the world in which we live. Their brightly colored, large-scale installations combine studio and social practices to create temporary worlds that highlight undervalued histories and social issues.

Reed’s work has shown at venues such as the National Art School and University of New South Wales Gallery (Sydney), San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, Transmediale Vorspiel (Berlin), La Patinoire Royale (Brussels), Columbia University, Center for Craft, Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, and Museum of Art and Design NYC. They received First Prize at the 2023 Louisiana Contemporary exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Reed completed their MFA at University of Illinois at Chicago (2013) and BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (2007). They studied Physical Theater at Dah International Theatre School (Belgrade), Radio Documentary at Salt Institute for Documentary Studies (Maine), and Socially Engaged Arts at The Kitchen (NYC). They attended residencies and fellowship programs at Royal Academy of Arts (London), Eyebeam Center for Art + Technology, and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

To learn more about Macon Reed, visit www.maconreed.com.

Macon’s residency was generously sponsored in part by Phyllis Childress.

Nela Garzón is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose work explores the intersection of traditions, cultural diversity, and acculturation. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultures, she addresses themes of colonialism, racism, social injustice, and migration, critically examining the impact of ethnocentrism in dominant societies. With a passion for folk art and handcrafts, Garzón immerses herself in traditional techniques, reinterpreting them to comment on the effects of globalization and capitalism. Her work advocates for the preservation of ancestral knowledge, the promotion of pride in minority communities, and the acceptance of immigrants and refugees in a pluricultural world.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Garzón earned a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Javeriana University in 2004. Her art has been featured in significant exhibitions in Colombia, including the 41st Salón Nacional de Artistas and the 4th Salón de Arte Bidimensional. In the U.S., she has received notable achievements, such as the 1st Award at the Assistance League of Houston Show (2019), the LIFTS grant (2020), and a sculpture featured at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2022). She also received a Jones Artist Award from the Houston Endowment (2023). A commissioned work is permanently installed at Meow Wolf Houston (2024), and she was a resident artist at PAC (2023).

To learn more about Nela Garzón’s work, visit http://www.minkstereo.com.

Nela’s residency was generously sponsored in part by Jerome Schultz.