Bio

 

    Irene Pérez is an emerging visual artist making work that explores place, perception, cultural identity, and language. Irene works on projects in a variety of media, including works on paper, fiber pieces, and installations.

 

    Born in 1975 in Terrassa, near Barcelona, Spain she started her practice in Chicago, Illinois where she lived between 1999 and 2009. Irene recently returned to Barcelona where she now lives and works. Her studies include work in art history at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and photography and fine arts at the College of Dupage in Illinois. Irene graduated with a BFA in studio arts with a focus in sculpture and painting at the University of Illinois at Chicago in May of 2009.

 

    In addition to her practice as an artist, Irene has worked on a number of curatorial projects, serving as the Assistant Director at the Orleans Street Gallery in St. Charles, Illinois from March 2007 to May 2009. She also worked as the curator of the Library Art Exhibition Series at the College of DuPage Library from 2004 to 2006, and as the assistant organizer on artXposium 2007 and co-curator of artXposium 2008 and artXposium 2009.  In June 2008 Irene co-founded the Second Bedroom Project Space in Chicago together with Christopher Smith, aiming to offer creative and exhibition opportunities to emerging artists working in installation media. CONSTRUCTIONS, her most recent solo curatorial work opened in January 2009.

 

Before leaving Chicago in November 2009, Irene was invited to participate in the project Soto - Chacón Dancers as part of the installation created by artist Edra Soto within the 12 x 12 venue at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. She also created a project for WHAT IT IS gallery under the title of (involuntary) Memories, which involved the production of an art installation and the preparation of food.

Complete CV (pdf)