I paint quiet moments and still places where time seems to stop for a while. Nature is always my source of inspiration. My artwork is the result of an intuitive process where shapes and colors are presented without a plan. I like to explore with freedom. Abstract images appear in the scene, so my mind silences and surrenders with surprise.

In this invented world without noise, my soul awakens as I listen to my inner voice; a voice that we all feel like a whisper; a voice that carries the truth about the greatness of our spirit and the beauty inside of us.

I paint to remember who I am and to share my silence with anyone else who wants to listen to their own voice.

BIOGRAPHY

Lorena Velez was born in Lima, Peru (1973). Initially, she pursued a career as a children’s therapist, but her visual sensitivity and her desire to create led her to the world of art.

In 2006, Velez started as a self-taught painter. Nature has been the central theme in her artwork. She has always worked from memory and imagination through an intuitive process.

In Velez’s early paintings, nature was expressed through the physicality of the materials. Textures from acrylic, abstract shapes, and organic brushstrokes evoked the various marks found in nature. Written phrases have always been included in her paintings, not only as a visual element but as a way to express through poetry, her most deep reflections, as she wrote, “My paintings are a channel to uncover my inner world and the result of my spiritual journey”.

As her style evolved, she began incorporating more defined shapes within a linear framework. Velez's artistic career has been shaped by living throughout diverse cities across America, from Lima to Chapel Hill, Atlanta, Caracas, and Bogotá. Each location contributed to her artistic growth with a unique blend of experiences and insights.

In 2017, Velez moved to New York to further hone her skills. She enrolled in The New York Studio School, where she earned a master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2020. During her first years at school, she worked from perception, more realistically, exploring the figure through drawing, painting, and sculpture. This shift allowed Velez to discover a new language where her past and her present merged, imbuing her artwork with a balance between reality and imagination.

Today, Lorena Velez resides in Miami, Florida. Her dedication and talent were recognized in 2023 when she received the prestigious Mercedes Matter Award for her painting "Summer Palm."

EDUCATION

2018 - 2020 New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture - MFA in Painting

2017 - 2018 New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture - Certificate Program in Painting

2011 Drawing course with Martha Goldstein - Bogota, Colombia

2008 - 2009 Painting course with Margaret Salazar - Caracas, Venezuela

1990 - 1995 Universidad Femenina del Sagrado Corazon. Special Education. Children Therapist: Speech and Learning disabilities.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2021 Caminos, Lima - Peru

2013 Metamorfosis, Indigo Gallery, Lima -Peru

2011 Dans Paris, Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima- Peru

2009 Ramas y Hojas, Caracas Venezuela

GROUP EXHIBITIONS