Interviews and Reviews

Keisha Lopez is an artist based in Nashville, TN. The process of making art is therapeutic for Keisha – she has been able to self-heal through her art, and since then, her art continues to serve this purpose. Her main focus is on the collective experience of women, while her current focus is on rediscovering her Latin roots through abstract expressionism. She is currently studying for a Masters in Art Therapy and talks to us about her latest series “Red, Flesh and Blues”.

When did you start your art practice?

I have used my creativity as an outlet my whole life. I started taking my art seriously around 2013 when I transitioned from Biology Major to Painting and Psychology. Amidst my studies, I developed Leukemia and it completely solidified my need/drive to create as a method of self-healing, growth, as well as illuminated my purpose and identity.

How do you describe your vision for your work?

I create very fluidly and have an organic process. It constantly evolves beside me, and often times ahead of me. I experiment and challenge myself and allow my body of work to reveal its vision to me. It’s a delicate balance of being direct with my intentions and mark-making, but allowing myself to not be too constrained by a planned result. I see my art practice as a lifelong pursuit to heal my mind and body with it. In turn, a vision for my work is to spread my overcoming of chaos, loss of control, and regaining of balance through my abstract methods of creation. I hope to help women feel seen and heard and to overcome trauma. Currently, I am unearthing my previously white-washed Latin cultural ties and in turn promoting further equity and human interconnectedness.

How has your work evolved over time?

In the beginning, my style would change every 2 or 3 weeks. I’ve went from Minimalist to Maximalist, Post-Modernist to Portrait Painter, and from monochromatic Palette to everything in between. I feel now that I am more enrapt with the process of creating and not being restrictive in my methods of creating. I still do not have a ’style’ per say, but I have accepted myself in a perpetual state of in-betweenness.

What are your artistic/creative inspirations?

There are so many. Currently, I am inspired by Sisavanh Phouthavong, Erin Loree, Calli Moore, Cecily Brown, Arden Bendler-Browning, Vadis Turner, Stefanie Thiele and so many other powerful women artists…

I am heavily inspired and influenced by socio-psychological and socio-political ideas, understandings, and circumstance. When trying to understand the world around me, I dive deeper into my own consciousness and understandings through painting.

What goals do you have for your practice?

I would love to have a flourishing art practice that enables me to have even more time and space to create. I am working towards my Masters in Art Therapy. I see my work developing further alongside my growing psycho-analytical understandings of human perception and healing. I want to speak to people amidst depression, battling the internal chaos and anxieties of life. To pick up the pen, the paper, the brush and just flow instead of harboring negative thoughts affecting self-worth. 

Full Interview Online at FRONTRUNNER Magazine.