Bio
Ileana Alarcón (b. 1993) is a Colombian American artist who grew up in Connecticut as a child of two immigrant parents. From a young age, she quickly became interested in designing spaces- building forts, making make-shift playhouses, and building toy block cities. At age 9 she drew up a floor plan for her parents’ home so that it would be more child-friendly and at age 10 she helped her father build a permanent playhouse in the backyard from mostly recycled materials.
Ileana’s father was a huge influence in her life, teaching her as much as he could about creating things by hand. As a poor immigrant child to the United States, along with his four younger sisters, he taught himself how to make toys out of whatever he could find- including mud. This creativity and perseverance is what he passed on to Ileana.
Ileana graduated with a BFA from Maine College of Art and Design in 2018 and is now based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ileana’s artistic practice focuses mainly on sustainability and sculpting with recycled materials.
Statement
Influenced by the duality of her Colombian heritage and “gringa” upbringing, Ileana Alarcón’s work incorporates personal life events with Magical Realism to create objects and environments that cultivate a physical or sometimes emotional reaction. Intentionally using recycled materials to design objects and spaces that uproot her viewers from the mundane, Ileana hopes to prove that a new and sustainable future is not only possible but highly accessible.