Daniela Oliver de Portillo
Ya No Se que es Ser Mujer Aquí, by Daniela Oliver de Portillo
Daniela Oliver de Portillo is an artist living and working in San Antonio, Texas. Originally from Mexico City, Oliver and her family moved to the United States in 2002. She recently returned to a studio practice after a decade-long hiatus, in her work she reflects on the domestic, child rearing, identity, and self-imposed standards of female perfection influenced by society, culture and other women.
From 2001 to 2002 Oliver worked as a studio apprentice with artist Mario Pacchioli in Florence Italy, she then studied studio art and communications at Trinity University. She has participated in exhibitions at Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City and the Festa della Primavera in Florence, Italy. In Texas she has exhibited her work at Joan Grona Gallery, Clamp Light Artist Studios and Gallery, and Bihl Haus Arts. In addition to her work as an artist, Oliver is a public relations and marketing consultant with a focus on non-profit cultural institutions.
For her mural at Clamp Light, Oliver shares a preview of an upcoming series featuring contrasting freshly arranged and decaying florals. “Ya No Se que es Ser Mujer Aquí” is a direct response to the newly imposed SB8 law in Texas, and is a reflection of women’s inability to control their own destiny and health. The vessel, decorated with symbols of Texas, seems to contain and control the freedoms which were, until now, considered indisputable under federal law.