Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcella Colavecchio.
Hi Marcella, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Marcella Colavecchio. I’m a contemporary figurative artist working out of Austin, TX. I realized I was an artist at a very young age. As an only child, my parents always encouraged me to keep busy by doing something creative. My father is an abstract painter and master metal craftsman. He always pushed me to be the best at anything I put my mind to. I remember being in middle school when I made my first animation cell based on a short documentary I watched on Walt Disney Animation Studios and by then, I realized that the word “artist” would define me for the rest of my life. A few years later, I was chosen by my high school to participate in a program catered toward exceptional art students. Once a week, I’d have the opportunity to travel up to Lyme Academy of Fine Art in Old Lyme, CT and take an 8-hour figure drawing class taught by the late Deane Keller — free of charge. Deane wrote the incredible “Draftsman Handbook,” which taught me everything I would need to know about drawing the human body. Even with these incredible opportunities and the obvious growth in my skills, it wasn’t enough to convince my family that going to art school was going to be a good investment.
After the money argument came: “You’re a girl. You can’t just live in a dorm with other boys. What would people think?” Everything started becoming more complicated. I was starting to feel pressured to enter into a career I didn’t want, studying topics I didn’t want to study, to opt into going to a school closer to home, and finally to get married and start a family as soon as possible. As a result, I gave up on art as a whole. I stopped drawing and painting. If I couldn’t go to art school, what was the point? I wouldn’t know anyone, learn from anyone, or have the same opportunities as others once I got out to really get connected to the community. I spent 13 years in complacency – 13 years battling depression and lost my sense of self. Even when I did paint, I didn’t hear or feel my own voice. It was covered under layers of uncertainty. It’s hard to feel like yourself when everyone else is telling you what to do and how to feel. In 2017, after turning 30, I had both a mid-life crisis and revelation. I realized that I only had one life to live, and I was living it for others. I left everything behind and moved to Austin, TX to start a brand new life where I vowed to find myself and take back my power as both a woman and an artist.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has had some extreme ups and downs. When I decided to take my life back in 2017, not only would I have to break the cycle of oppression I had with my family, but I would also be paving the way through a very difficult divorce that was also incredibly domineering. While my road was paved with a lot of loss, it also leads to the happiest and most fulfilling three years of my life. Even though I lost my family for a little while, we were able to reconcile over time and now I can truly see my perspective. Not only have they learned to respect my decisions and my privacy, but they’re proud of the work that I’m doing. I also have a wonderful partner that lifts me up and sees my potential more than I can most days.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a contemporary figurative artist and my work focuses on timely concepts of gender and identity, creating a space for dismantling large-scale societal and cultural systems of oppression. While my paintings are momentous in movement and bold with color, they are still silent and create a voluble visual narrative on the relationship between people, their bodies, and their freedoms. Each piece explores cycles of patriarchal influence that have been passed down through generations and the tension between keeping to what is known and forging a newer, and perhaps stronger, path. My work focuses on the concept of “power” and strikes the balance of boldness intertwined with vulnerability. What sets my work apart from other figurative artists is my use of color and lighting, which is inspired greatly by cinema. I’m most proud of all of my work from 2020 because I truly feel like I’ve found my courage and my voice. Because of this, I was able to obtain representation from Roaring Artist Gallery in Houston, TX and became a finalist for the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery’s NO DEAD ARTISTS Juried Exhibition.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I’m the person I always wanted to be. It’s as simple as that. I love my family here in Austin, comprised of my partner and our two pug mixes. And I love the Austin art community, who have been so accepting and supportive of my brand of “weirdness.”
Contact Info:
- Email: marcellaispainting@gmail.com
- Website: www.marcellacolavecchio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcellaispainting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcellaispainting
Image Credits
Brien F. Adams and Daniel W. Adams
