Angelina Prestel

2022-current

Trust.

Play.

Intuition.

Marks made by chance.

Made during pregnancy, bedrest and postpartum with third child. Created in sketchbook, canvas, and paper

2020-2022

Nurture: the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.

The push and pull of growing. The unknown tangles, messes, overlaps, and glimpses of beauty. Beauty that comes out of the unknown - from a seed, to a sprout, to a branch, to a bud. These works focus on growth, the unknown, the unseen. The way plants grow, rebound, and live is a mystery.

The plant cycle inevitably involves decay, but decay leads to compost, which enriches the soil and births something in return. Caring for physical plants has been a personal journey in healing, restoration, a journey in letting go.

Overwhelm in the chaos. Beauty in the unknown. Life giving. Growth. Decay. Rebirth.

Assemble, cut, sew, draw, play.

Sewing on watercolor paper

Work made during distance teaching and a return to in person teaching 2021.

2016-2019

Constant attending. Unending time. Periphery. Visceral. Through this work I seek to capture the emotion a parent faces. The never ending sense of time that stands still yet moves at an incredible speed. The labor of a mother is tangible yet so easy to forget. Trace records the movements of his need for me. The paintings show the viscerality of the bodily changes from self to nurturer. 

2017-2018

Visceral, vying for attention -  The chaos of each day rises to the surface. Using objects I aim to illuminate the delicate balancing act rehearsed on everyday.  The pull in one direction or the other can create a chain reaction and possible collapse. Tall, towering columns of varying heights create a physicality that one is made aware of.  A sense of tactility and chaotic balance are foreground searching to reach that which is unattainable.

On view:

MICA Decker Gallery; 1401 W Mt Royal Ave, Baltimore MD (June 22- July 6)

2016

Using simple machines that made random movements, I attached drawing materials to them and allowed them to run for a predetermined amount of time on 22 x 28 newsprint 

2015-2016

In this body of work I considered how movements create invisible drawings in space. I created multiple situations of tracks for fluorescent balls to run on. Photographing at a low exposure allowed the drawing to be seen. Overlaying hundreds of images on top of each other I created sequences of these invisible drawings and stop-motion videos. 

2015

The trail that one leaves in space is an interest of mine. Through this work, I tracked people's movement and my own movement through natural and urban spaces. The drawings only appear at the conclusion of the process of recording and tracing. 

2014-2017

Thinking about the variances in drawing, I began to consider how I could create drawings with materials that I already had. The installation room, the tape on the floor, and the small set up here are examples of my drawings. I began by observing the surroundings of the objects and then arranging them accordingly in the space.  

2014-2015

I became interested in the presence of daily conversations in my practice. As a teacher I constantly have to converse with multiple individuals. To create these drawings I recorded the length and amount of conversations I had per day. Some used a mathematical equation to configure the plot, others were based on my memory. 

2014

Considering the map, line and the idea of journey. These topographies reference the invisible journey of life. Intricately placed, each string's action affects the next move of the string and the resulting image. 

The outside installation is participatory and invites the viewer to consider the maze and path their body must take to walk through the space.

2009-2014

Displaced. In 2009 I moved to the DC metro. Feelings of displacement and confusion with road systems and cultural systems persisted. Using the flatness of the physical map that I used daily to navigate my surrounding I sought to find a sense of place and belonging in an urban environment. In my apartment there was one lone tree that overlooked a sea of concrete. The presence of the tree remained a constant in the work. 

2008-2010

History, abandoned, worn. Inspired by the beauty of tattered buildings in Italy that showed their layers of history, I sought to recreate a sense of history and time in the work. I used found materials, layering and distressing them. 

Teaching Portfolio

Link to teaching portfolio 

Classroom Website 

used for online student portfolios, AP studio art projects, and resources for high school visual arts students. 

I love capturing real life. As an artist and mom, I realize these are the moments that will become the memories for my family, not the perfectly staged photograph. I have been taking pictures for over a decade, and would love the opportunity to capture a few memories with you. Please contact me if you are interested in photography or videography.