Paulina Otero

Bio

Paulina Otero is a Mexican Fiber artist who focuses on making wearables and wall hangings that are abstract representations of her experiences in her home country, Mexico. She references home by using colors, forms and textures inspired by architecture, nature and traditional textiles. Paulina has a major interest in combining industrial and domestic materials such as yarn, felt, wood, and plexiglass to inspire a desire to touch. By combining all these elements she expresses her feelings of nostalgia towards a particular time and place during her childhood. Paulina has received the excellence award by Surface Design Association and the 2020 BFA Exhibition Honor Award. She has exhibited her work in the Appalachian Center for Craft, the St, Louis Art Guild, and Curiouser KC. In addition to her practice, she has also developed a jewelry brand that has been sold in venues such as The Kemper Museum, Dear Society and Parlor. Paulina is a studio member at the Cherry Pit Collective and is currently based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Artist Statment

My work is a combination of wall hangings, wearables and experimental furniture. As someone who has lived abroad and been local for many years, I have had the opportunity to make many homes away from home. I seek to harmonize living and working spaces with everything I make. Curating my home or a space with familiar objects fulfills my nostalgic feeling of wanting to remember a particular time during my childhood. I want my work to be playful, but also provide an experience through a more specific function.

I fully embrace the challenge of rethinking the functionality of design that is expressed in the objects we use on a daily basis. The forms I am most drawn to are inspired by Mexican modern architecture, traditional textiles and the nature around me. The wall hangings and wearables I design connect through the use of materials such as plexiglass, yarn and felt. The repetition of organic, bold geometric shapes and specificity of color and shape are all important components of my work. I use pastel tones because they are soothing and bright colors to symbolize intense emotions. The colors I use are inspired by my surroundings in Mexico and they are a way for me to connect with my culture. As my sculptural and functional work develops I seek an integration of art and design, with the intention of creating a holistic and immersive experience for the viewer.

Exhibitions