Carla Bank
Chicago, USA
modern abstract painter
As a painter, my goal is to produce art that exhilarates. I want to reach people with color and vibrancy. Born in Mexico City and raised near the beach in Cancun, my Mexican identity is essential to my art. It informs my worldview and is the keepsake of traditions and memories that I cherish. It expresses itself in my art again and again. Over the years, my style has evolved from a tendency toward realism to tapping into the outer realms of my imagination. My most recent collections include experimentation in geometric abstraction and a return to paintings that are highly detailed and recall a sense of place. The underlying theme, however, is always joy.
Carla Bank – my love of pop culture, brings my vision to canvas!
Being a native of Mexico, and having been a Chicago land resident for many years, I bring a unique perspective to modern art. My inspiration is all around me in this great city and my use of color stems from the celebrated artistic heritage of my home country.
At what age did you know you wanted to be an artist?
When I was 6, living in Mexico City, my school took us to a field trip to Frida Kahlo studio. Her paintings scared me but got me so curious about art. Since that day , I never saw crayons like a material again. I saw them as a tool to do anything in life.
What is the earliest artwork you did that you can remember?
Living in Cancun Mexico, I started experimenting with sands and used them as materials, mixing them with mediums and pigments. I did paintings with them and that’s when people starting paying for something I created.
Which classical or contemporary artists have inspired you?
Of course Frida, but some of my favorites Dia Al-azzawi, Iraki artist I discovered at the Qatar Museum of contemporary art and Takashi Murakami, which I knew for his colaboration with Kanye West and Louis Vuitton, but when I visited his exhibit at the Mori Museum of Tokyo and saw the dimension and newest work, he became my favorite.
How would you describe your artistic style?
Uplifting, vibrant modern abstract paintings.
When did you first sell an artwork? How did you feel?
In the 80’s in Cancun when I created my own medium using sands. I thought, OH! So you can get paid doing what you love????? I’m in!
What's your workstyle? Do you work on one piece at a time or work simultaneously on multiple pieces?
I always work in multiple pieces at the same time. Inspiration comes, goes, traps you in one piece while you abandon another one but at the end of the day, each one gets done. And I can’t concentrate on one, when mind is in creative more, it’s wandering all over the studio
How do you get the inspiration for a new piece?
By traveling, visiting museums, learning about other cultures, that keeps my creativity hungry.
Tell us a bit about your personal life ...
I love to learn about other cultures and travel to far away places always finding adventures. I love to run marathons. I cook great mexican food,I’m a mom of 3 teen agers and 2 lovely cats.
Art is my therapy, when up or down, you will always find me at the studio, but the results are always the same. Uplifting and vibrant work
A few pieces from Carla’s gallery
Tangled up in Blue
Together Forever
Why they love Carla’s art
Javier, Brussels, Belgium
“You can gaze at Frederick’s art for a while. It generates many different interpretations…You keep looking back at the painting in a whole new way.”
Marianna, California
“I have three of Fred’s paintings in my living room. They are somehow bright in the morning and brooding at night. And the fact that they look so textured while actually being smooth to the touch…it’s just really beautiful.”
More about Carla Bank
Awards
2016
Outstanding Achievement Award-Barrington Art Festival, Barrington IL
2015
Outstanding Achievement Award and Poster Artist- Chicago Botanic Gardens Art festival, Glencoe IL
Poster Artist- Oakbrook art Festival, Oakbrook IL
Poster Artist-The Other Art Show, Des Moines IA
2014
Outstanding Achievement Award- Glencoe Art Festival, Glencoe IL
Outstanding Achievement Award and Poster Artist- Promenade of arts, Arlington Heights IL
2013
Outstanding Achievement Award and Poster Artist- Barrington Art Festival, Barrington IL
2011
Excellence award- Art in Bloom outdoor sculpture exhibit, Oakbrook IL
Chosen artist by the Chicago White Sox to paint Frog Sculpture for Art in Bloom exhibit, Oakbrook IL