About
Ana Hernandez-Burwell
Born in Laredo, Texas
Lives & works in San Antonio, Texas
BIO
Ana holds a BFA in painting, with a minor in art history from the University of Texas in San Antonio. She exhibits her work regionally and internationally. Ana has worked numerous public art projects in San Antonio and Tamaulipas, Mexico.
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Fractured images of femininity, pop culture and regional icons populate Ana Laura Hernández’s paintings. Born and raised on the South Texas border, Hernández draws from her experience as a first generation American and mother in a contemporary culture.
PAST SHOWS ARTIST STATEMENTS
Let Them Eat Cake, 2021
Marie Antoniete and the misattributed phrase “Let them eat cake” are the focus of this series.
Inspired by the overtly saccharine images of Rococo and the many interpretations of the iconic
French royal throughout the centuries, I recreated familiar portraits with modern twists that push
common misconceptions of the queen, and femininity, to the point of absurdity.
Regional Bull, 2019
These paintings are based on collected metaphors and experiences I’ve amassed throughout my life. I believe our past experiences and seemingly meaningless encounters can later breach the surface of the subconscious to become an iconic visual symbol. In my work, familiar regional symbols and abstract figures interact in a metaphoric narrative that is autobiographical I hope universal. My paintings explore and celebrate the certainties and ambiguities of intrapersonal relationships and the human condition.
ADULTS - 2017
My intent is to look at and portray Millennials as they deal with contemporary situations. The characters in my paintings, which I like to call “adults”, have classical Greek busts as heads with incomplete skeletons as bodies with emphasis on their rib cages and pelvis. The rib cage is where we think we store our feelings – in our hearts – and the pelvis is where our reproductive organs are. The classical busts represent a preconceived image of perfection and are also one of the most copied styles in art; they are supposed to be cool, blank and objective. The “adults” have arms and hands to provide for themselves and express themselves but lack legs and feet because they cannot escape their current situation. I place these “adults” in surreal scenes while giving the scenes aspects of ordinary every day life. In these pieces I am exploring individual identity with the use of cross-cultural ideas with an emphasis on the exploration of the inner self.
CV
Education
BFA - Concentration in painting - University of Texas San Antonio
2011 - A.S. Liberal Arts - Northwest Vista College.
Solo Exhibitions
• 2018 "Anachronistic Muses" Anarte Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2018 "Doll Parts" Lone Star Art Space, San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 "ADULTS" Dorćol Distilling Co., San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “Feminality Discomposed” Studio Fantomas, San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “Recent Works” Art Lab Contemporary Space, Uvalde, Texas
• 2015 “Transplant” Ster Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
Group Exhibitions
• 2018 "Make Automatic or Habitual", Studio Fantomas, San Antonio, Texas
• 2018 "And Now..." Freight Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2018 "It Means A Lot", Revenant Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2018 "Our Turn III" Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 “Segunda Muestra Binacional de Artes Plasticas Entre Laredo, Texas y Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas”, Museo Reyes Mesa, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
• 2017 “Controlled Burn” Mini Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas/ Colombia
• 2017 "Concrete June", San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 "MetaDada: High Art for the POPulace", Arts & Culture, City of San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 "Collegiate Exhibition", San Antonio Art League, San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 "Diverse Views", Trebla Art Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 "Amiss", Concrete Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2017 "The Big Painting Exhibition", Lone Star Studios, San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “Investigating Identity”, Curated and showed, Art Lab Contemporary Space, Uvalde, Texas
• 2016 “Recent Works”, joint show, 1800 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “Venus Springs”, Artists with a Mission Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “Mucho Mas que Tacos y Tequila”, UTSA Art Gallery
• 2016 “Juried Student Art Show” San Antonio College, San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “Sisters of Solidarity Show”, Movement Gallery
• 2016 “Art at the Jalapeño” High Wire, San Antonio, Texas
• 2016 “First MD: The Multifaceted Brain of the Artist” Brick at Blue Star, San Antonio, Texas
• 2015 “Foto Septiembre/SSA Celebrates 50 Years” Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas
• 2015 “Laredoan en San Anto” Ster Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
• 2015 “RecuperArte” Laredo Rehabilitation Center, Laredo, Texas
• 2015 “Comfort Art Festival” Comfort Pizza, Comfort, Texas
• 2015 “Raw Artists” Aztec Theater, San Antonio, Texas
• 2015 “Selfish” Gallery 201, Laredo, Texas
• 2015 “Juried Student Art Show” San Antonio College, San Antonio, Texas
Exhibitions Curated
• 2016 “Investigating Identity” Art Lab Contemporary Space, Uvalde Texas
Professional Services
• Art Handler and Preparator - 2017 - present
- City of San Antonio/Arts and Culture
- McNay Art Museum
- Southwest School of Art
- Independent contractor
Scholarships
• 2016 and 2017- Carlos and Malu Alvarez International Study Fund
• 2016 - McKinney Distinguished Scholarship
• 2015 - Robert and Laura Fainter Endowed Scholarship
Affiliations/Memberships
• 2017 Art History Association, UTSA – Vice President
• 2015-2016 Art History Association, UTSA – Volunteer chair
Community
• 2016 – Chalk It Up Featured Artist, Artpace
• 2016 - Volunteer mural painter, San Anto Cultural Arts 50th Mural
• 2016 – Designed Print, Chupachanga, San Anto Cultural Arts
• 2016 – Lectured, made lesson plans for summer Art Workshop, San Anto Cultural Arts
• 2016 - Event volunteer, Chupachanga, San Anto Cultural Arts