Claudia Cuesta is a Colombian artist based in
Sechelt, British Columbia
Sechelt (, shíshálh Language: ch'atlich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from mainland British Columbia by a 40-minute ferry trip b ...
.
Education
She obtained an MFA from the
Slade School of Fine Art, University College of London where she studied with
Rachel Whiteread
Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993.
Whiteread was one of the Young British ...
, Marcus Taylor, and
Melanie Counsell
Melanie Counsell (born in 1964) is a British artist. She works with a multitude of media such as, sculpture, installation, 16 mm film, drawing, printed matter. Counsell has been resident at a range of art institutions, has undertaken roles in tea ...
.
Exhibitions
Since coming to Canada after studying in the UK in 1990,
she has participated in several group exhibitions. Her installation ''Relic of Time'' (1987–88) and ''Symbolic Correspondence'' (1993) at the
Toronto Power Plant 1993 exhibition ''Whiteness and Wounds'' addressed the issue of hurt and repair. At the
Vancouver Art Gallery
The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...
1993 exhibition ''Out of Place'', Cuesta contributed three installations ''Attempting to Integrate'' (1986-1987), ''Life Perpetually Starting'' (1993), and ''Journey'' (1993) that explored her self-reflexive journey to becoming an artist.
In 1998, Cuesta had a solo exhibition at the
Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery entitled ''CONFESSION (from a payphone)''. The exhibition centred on resolving personal, religious concerns, on acknowledging the
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
household in which she was raised and her current attitude towards the religion.
Public art works
Cuesta collaborates with urban designer Bill Baker on a number of public projects under the nam
art.site Installations by Cuesta and Baker can be seen in various cities of the
Greater Vancouver
Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term ''Greater Vancouver'' describes an area that is roughly coterminous with the r ...
area including: the cities of
Richmond, BC
Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...
,
Surrey, BC
Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...
and
North Vancouver, BC.
Awards
Cuesta is the recipient of numerous
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...
grants and a B. C. Cultural Fund Award. In 2011, Cuesta and Baker received the Public Award of Excellence for their public art installation ''Trees and Trail Markers'' in the city of North Vancouver.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuesta, Claudia
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Colombian artists
Alumni of University College London
Canadian people of Colombian descent