Written by Denise Pereau

Photography by Ezequiel De La Rosa

I’m fascinated by Artists and what makes them tick. After speaking with Grimanesa Amoros, I can tell you firsthand she radiates eloquently in her commentary emanating from an intuitive and soulful connection to nature and her personal relationship to light, incubated during early childhood near the Pacific coastline of Peru, South America. It’s a fact lending itself to an uncanny ability to clearly envision the creation of illuminated sculpture, deftly orchestrating projects from start to finish wherever she lands.

I literally almost fell off my chair when I learned Amoros never took an art class. Her artistic eye honed instead through insatiable curiosity along with the ability to absorb and memorize light centric coastal horizons and the streets where she grew up in Lima, Peru. Amoros explained as a young adult, she carefully studied both the Masters, and 20^th Century Contemporary Artists on her own while pouring through art publications and books in the Met Library in NYC, and numerous galleries and libraries around the world during her travels.

Prior to mounting an installation, Amoros painstakingly researches a site including the culture, community history, and local architecture which guides her in the formulation of LED lighting, video elements, and technology into seamlessly integrated sculpture. Her work draws the viewer into an enlightened dimension transcending space and time. It helps to understand that we are inextricably drawn to light as human beings forming relationships and attachment to its energy and in the end, in many cases, studies have even linked the appearance of otherworldly light guiding the faithful to their final destiny.

Many people toss around the word “authentic,” diluting the power of its very definition but in the context of this interview it is gainfully employed. Amoros is “genuine.” Another powerful word. The origin of the Artist’s authentic, genuine, interdisciplinary truths could never be disputed as witness to her phantasmagorical light installations garnering global acclaim. This narrative underscores the loyalty of her team whom she is quick to credit and praise for their important contributions.

Amoros spoke candidly of humility as a confidence builder in her life and work. I had never thought of such a pairing, but for her, the two are logical and inseparable. Without humility, and here she references her lifelong inspiration, Mother Theresa, we close ourselves off to new ideas, heightened awareness, and even new relationships. When we humble ourselves, we become more open and in tune with the learning process which historically stands as the ultimate confidence builder.

And who in our lifetime has been humbler yet more confident than Mother Theresa? Perhaps this is at the core of what makes her tick.

Most inspiring of all is Amoros’s approach to life. Her work is celebrated globally yet she has remained grounded, speaking effusively regarding family, purposeful living, and the desire to elevate kindness back to an ideal seemingly lost to the multitudes. I felt as if I was speaking with a long lost friend. We’re sure you’ll find Grimanesa Amoros to be as delightful and beguiling as we did during our conversation.

JEZ: It’s such a pleasure to meet you to gain insight into your life and work. Please tell us a little about your childhood.

Amoros: We lived near the coast of Peru in South America. My mother was extremely creative, and my father was a Civil Engineer. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. I was extremely curious and intuitive as a child and instinctively knew I was going to live elsewhere in the world someday. So, I made it a point to memorize the streets where I lived when I was about 11 or 12 so I’d never forget living there. We had a very structured upbringing which is important for an Artist. I wrote quite a bit growing up, especially poetry and was always imagining parallel worlds. The power of words has always been very present within me.

JEZ: What does your family life look like today?

Amoros: I’ve been married to my husband William for 37 years which seems hard to believe. Time flies. He’s been my biggest supporter and he’s always allowed me to be Grimanesa. I’m like a bird that can’t be caged. My work involves a lot of travel, so it takes a really strong partner to deal with periods of separation. He’s wonderful! And I have one daughter. It’s an incredible honor to be her mother.

JEZ: Who has been your biggest influence in your life?

Amoros: My mother was always a great influence on me which I think for most people is normal. She was very encouraging regarding my creativity and nurtured my independence early on, something every child can benefit from.

Another major influence in my life was Mother Theresa. Mother Theresa was just a simple woman, yet she conquered the world by humbly devoting her life to helping others. She was confident in communicating with world leaders yet humble and open to sharing with all people no matter where she went, no matter their socio-economic status. Always the epitome of benevolence and kindness.

It’s easy to be inspired by her example, but what captivated me the most was her humility, always thinking I could never be like that. The more I learned about her the more it pushed me to find myself, to really go deep internally, and I work hard to stay humble. If you think about it, being humble connects us to people and new experiences and if we pay attention, we learn and grow which helps give us confidence. If we can’t be humble, we disrupt our chances to succeed in life.

Being kind just seems to be so difficult for people these days. And it starts at the top. It seems we’re losing ourselves in a way, because every day we see so many people just out to get each other in the news and on social media. Don’t you think it’s time to bring kindness back?

JEZ: We couldn’t agree more! What would you say has been your greatest success to date and when?

Amoros: In 1996 my daughter was born, and I can’t imagine anything more wonderful! For me, she will always be my greatest achievement. I left the art world to devote my time to raising her because I knew that was my singular capacity, to raise one child. Being a mother for me has by far been my greatest role in life and as I said before, it’s an honor to be her mother. She’s amazing!

JEZ: Love the landscape painting you did as a child, SNOWLAND. You imagined a snow fall in the forest and you’d never seen snow. At what age were you aware the art world was your destiny?

Amoros: I was just 10 years old when I made that painting but didn’t see my first snowfall until I was 18 years old while living in Europe. I had a pretty good imagination and was drawing a lot by that time. By 11 years of age, my teachers, who always supported my drawing, used to let me sit in the school gardens so I could draw everything there. But I felt different from my friends who had other interests. I knew even then that a creative life would be my future.

JEZ: Woman’s advocacy is very important to you. As a woman, have you ever had any push back in your work? Ever feel dismissed or been passed over for a project because you’re a woman?

Amoros:  I’ve never felt dismissed. That’s pretty hard to assess because it may have happened, and I didn’t know it happened. I strongly feel women have to make their presence felt in whatever situation arises, no matter what their career path or undertaking. I’ve had to assert and maintain my ground on a few different projects over the years, but I’ve always been in control because I show up prepared for anything. And people respect that. It’s important to lead by example.

JEZ: Your work is meant to empower viewers. Do politics ever get in the way of your projects? Many Artists imbue political ideology into their work through hidden messaging. Have you ever hidden messages in your work?

Amoros: No, I’ve never had a problem. I do have intention in my work, but it may not necessarily be someone else’s. I leave things very open and no, I don’t hide messages in my installations. Everyone has a different view of my work, some hate, some love. It’s important for the viewer to stop and really think about what they’re looking at and whether the work stirs up an emotional response or not, and why. For some people it can be really visceral and for others, they may not relate at all, but light attracts, and most people do react positively to my work.

To learn more or to connect with Grimanesa Amoros, please go to:

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grimanesa-amor%C3%B3s-ab0a285/