Artist Statement

Personal data privacy has been greatly impacted by technological advances. My fascination with data and social media has led me to question how personal information is utilized. Information is compromised each time we navigate the web. Beyond the surface, there is a hidden network of sites where people can operate without restrictions. Technology has both brought out the best and the worst of us.

According to Jamie Bartlett, author of the book titled The Dark Net, around the world there are between 1.73 billion and 1.86 billion active social media users sharing information of who they are, what they like, and who they are with. This information is stored in databases where sometimes agencies have unrestricted access without knowledge or approval of the user. Oftentimes, developers building this technology go the extra mile to acquire the personal information of millions of users.

My background as a computer engineer inspired me to combine art and data in my works. Using encaustic, a technique used in ancient times to preserve mummy portraits let me portrait  these concepts. I am depicting modern and complex ideas that emerged out in the works compositions. Encaustic has the property to fuse and melt as a result images appear concealed and revealed. I have created narrative using techniques such as printmaking, photography, collages and drawings. By fusing the bee’s wax and adding pigments the encaustic medium allows me the ability to explore the nostalgia and chaos inside the complex use of data and social media today.

Biography

Magda Macías currently resides in The Woodlands, TX.  She completed her Bachelor in Fine Arts in 2D Studio Art with a minor in Art History form Sam Houston State University. Magda has a Bachelor in Computer Systems Engineering from ITESM in Monterrey, N.L, México. Her artwork explores the relationship between art and science. She enjoys experimenting with the color theory using oil, acrylic, printmaking and techniques that involve a blend of bees wax, resin and pigments. Magda is the co-owner of Cadmium, LLC a small business dedicated to teaching art to adults in The Woodlands, TX. since 2015. Her recent show was her solo exhibition titled, Fusion at Satellite Gallery, in Huntsville, TX.

Resume

EDUCATION

• The Glassell School, MFAH, Houston, TX

  Fall 2020 - currently

• Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX  Dec 2019 Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2 Dimensional Studio Art with a minor in Art History 

• Lone Star College Montgomery, The Woodlands, TX  May 2015 Associate of Arts

• Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mty, N.L, México May 1986 Bachelor of Science, Computer Systems Engineering

EXHIBITIONS

2020 VAA 37th juried membership Exhibition, Juried by Shana Nys Dambrot

2019    FUSION:  Satellite Gallery, Huntsville, TX

2019    Senior Flash Back Exhibition: Satellite Gallery, Huntsville, TX

2019    Alternative Surfaces:   SHSU Art Complex, Huntsville, TX

2019    20th Annual Juried Student Exhibition: Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, Huntsville,TX Juried by Celia Alvarez Muñoz

2018    19th Annual Juried Student Exhibition: Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, Huntsville,TX Juried by Dennis Nance

2018    FERVENT: S.O.F.A. Gallery at SHSU, Huntsville, TX

2014    SWIRL: Lone Star College-Montgomery, The Woodlands, TX

COLLECTIONS

2018    SHSU in Huntsville, TX