CABIN FEVER ARTIST TALK

Mic Diño Boekelmann

As the Covid-19 health crisis continues, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is working on ways to bring art to you at home, virtually. This is another installment of our ongoing series we call Cabin Fever Artist Talks. For these, we’ve asked artists to tell us a little about themselves and their work. In some cases, they’ll be answering questions provided by the Art Center. In others, they’ll be showing us around their studio or highlighting works in progress.

For this edition, we hear from artist Mic Diño Boekelmann. Mic was born in Quezon City, Philippines, and was raised in Germany, Israel and the U.S. Her work has been shown at the Salmagundi Club, Allied Artists of America, Phillips Mill, Trenton City Museum, Sardenhaus Munich and is part of the permanent Campus Collection at Princeton University. She has a B.A. from UC Berkeley, attended a classical drawing/painting atelier and became a member of the NYFA Immigrant Artist Program in 2019. She lives and works in Princeton, NJ, USA.

“My work is a celebratory act of remembrance which is documented in my paintings, drawings and Manila Envelope cutouts,” she said. “Inspired by the vibrant energy of the Philippines and the warm memories of my mother, I create an open dialogue with the picture in front of me.Using personal photographs and meditation as guides, I often render shapes with a brush or a craft knife in golden brown and yellow ochre. My themes are deliberate choices to counteract the effects of assimilation in my life. I am moved by feelings similar to those I had as a child climbing my Lola’s trees in Bicol, where I felt accepted, nurtured and free.”

Visit micboekelmann.com for more information on the artist.