Brenda Ciardiello
Plein Air II

Brenda Ciardiello
Of The Land Of The Water

Brenda Ciardiello
Into The Light

Brenda Ciardiello
Plein Air IV

Brenda Ciardiello
IMG 9492

Brenda Ciardiello
IMG 1268

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a nature-based painter and poet. My work explores the effects nature has on our experience as humans. Through poetic expression and striking botanical compositions, I contemplate and attempt to express visual manifestations of human introspection and connection to our natural surroundings. A lifelong fascination with water led me to watercolor; as a medium it is uniquely well-suited to capturing ephemeral elements of nature expressively. I lean into its dynamic, serendipitous qualities by guiding more than marking - embracing its unpredictability, blooming, and translucence. Water's impermanence and constant transience embodies and mirrors nature's ever-changing character as well as our own existence.

My newest body of work incorporates the human figure - usually myself or one of my three sons - into my natural compositions. This work is deeply personal, fueled by a strong desire to create a more equitable society for my children through greater representation of brown and black bodies in art. The human elements are always painted in oil creating a pairing of oil and water with my botanical watercolors which explores questions of belonging, compatibility, and coexistence on both societal and environmental levels.

My process is to remove myself from the quotidian and go into nature; be it through travel or a simple walk, I seek to immerse myself in and commune with nature as an escape and a means of seeking connection. In these moments, I seek out nature's tangible and intangible qualities - light, sound, texture, color, smell - and observe their effects on myself and others. I am fascinated by the way we interact with plants, water, clouds, the sun, with our hands, our feet, our bodies. It is from these observations that I take inspiration for my poetic work and capture original source imagery for my paintings. My paintings are visual manifestations of the delight and awe nature brings me, and the deep contemplation it elicits from all of us.

With beauty as a primary means of communication, my contemporary scenes of effortless interaction, or implied interaction, with nature speak to a deep connection with the earth and each other - and directly refute the exoticization of brown and black bodies, asserting that we are all “natural,” beautiful in our own right.

Brenda Ciardiello

Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello is a Mexican-American artist and poet who paints contemporary landscapes, botanicals and abstract art that deal with themes of personal connection to nature, as inspired by her experiences and travels in nature around the world. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Classical Civilizations from the University of Notre Dame, as well as a Master of Science in Education from The City College of New York.

Brenda is heavily influenced by her bicultural and international experience of the world. Born in Mexico City but raised in Texas, she has also lived / studied in Italy, the U.K., New York City, New England, the Rocky Mountains, and the Middle East and, as part of her process, travels whenever possible to capture original source imagery for her artwork.

Brenda currently lives and paints in Fort Worth, Texas where she shows her work through local art organizations and galleries and, occasionally, teaches. She is a 2021 Carter Community Artist with the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth.