Nela Garzón “Not One of Us” Opening Reception

We are excited to start the new year with the artist Nela Garzón, whose fiberworks and paintings tell the stories of human migration and colonialism. The show is titled “Not One of Us”.

Nela Garzón is a multidisciplinary visual artist with a profound interest in exploring foreign media inspired by traditional crafts and cultures. Her art is driven by her admiration for cultural diversity and the transgression of acculturation. It encompasses topics such as: colonialism, racism, social injustice and migration amongst others. We encounter in her work the juxtaposition and hybridity of cultures as a critical outcome of the ethnocentrism of dominant societies. Folk art, crafts, beliefs and customs from around the globe are her subject of research and admiration. She often learns traditional techniques, adopts and modifies them as a statement about the side effects of globalization and capitalism. Her goal is to create awareness about the importance of ancestral and traditional cultures and to promote pride in minorities as well as embracement towards immigrants, refugees and a pluricultural world.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, she obtained a Bachelor’s of Visual Arts on 2004 from the Javeriana University. In Colombia, her art was part of the 41 Salón Nacional de Artistas and 4to Salón de Arte Bidimensional. Her work has been shown around the U.S. and has been recognized, including 1st award at the Assistance League of Houston Texas Show (2019), LIFTS grant (2020), The MFAH commissioned a temporary sculpture for the Cullen Sculpture Garden (2022), Jones Artists Award bestowed by the Houston Endowment (2023), Art Residency at PAC (2023) and at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (2025).

Artist Statement

“Not One of Us”

I see a close relationship between indigenous people’s rights being constantly violated, their land exploited by colonial and capitalistic practices and how the natural environment suffers devastation after these encounters. Animals and plants have been an asset throughout human history and have also contributed to the exoticization of places. Indigenous people from around the globe are protectors of natural resources, and when they are displaced from their lands, animals and vegetation suffer as well.”

Not One of Us is the title of my project, in which the relationship between colonialism and migration is confronted. With the series titled “Runners” which depicts refugees from different origins and their journeys, I pay tribute to those who flee their home in search of a better future. The word runner refers to someone who runs, but also refers to long narrow rugs that are meant for hallways to join different spaces, therefore, I portray refugees as links that bring different cultures and places from around the globe to us.

In contrast to the fiber art pieces, the project includes a series of paintings titled “Forasteros” which is the Spanish word for foreigners. With these works I illustrate past and contemporary behaviors of colonialism inviting the viewer to reflect on the relationship between first world visitors to third or new world countries vs. the influx of immigrants to the first world and the different reactions and dispositions from both sides.

You can also see in the exhibition other fiber art pieces, including two welcome rugs to my home city and country (Bogotá and Colombia) and several small latch-hooked works depicting endemic and endangered species from different countries, but mostly from places that have a lot of emigration.