Jessica Valderrama

Second-generation New York born, Florida Coast grown, Asia expat returned, I use representational painting and drawing to observe nuance in the changes and idiosyncrasies of place. I offer the viewer a chance to connect through a familiar embrace or novel perspectives.

I received a BA majoring in Fine Art from Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida. I have shown my work domestically and internationally and have work in private collections in the US, the UK, Australia and South Korea. I currently live and working in Metro Atlanta.

My artwork is about intimate observation, orientation, and connection. My work is to understand and share my story in order to connect to others' stories. I note my history by location and collect reference material while in these places, moments. Using drawing or painting, I recreate the experience, searching for and noting the details, capturing the ephemeral. I share parts of my biography through intentional renderings of places where I came from and where I am.

As Brené Brown writes in her introduction to Atlas of the Heart, “The anchor we are searching for is connection, and it is internal. To form meaningful connections with others, we must first connect with ourselves...” Place and the experiences held within it are important and universal to our stories.