About
Aleece Bustamante is a first-generation college graduate from Georgia studying both studio art and art history. Her foray into art began with an interest in tattoos and has led her to develop a dual practice as a creator and researcher.
As an artist, she works primarily in painting, drawing, and collage. In drawing and painting, her focus is on abstraction, the human form, and the development of unique visual language. In collage, she often addresses her experiences with gender, misogyny, and performance of the self. Her work has been featured in several independent and student-led exhibitions, as well as Oglethorpe University's literary magazine The Tower.
Of her studio practice, she has said:
My approach to art typically begins as a visual experiment first and a personal or thematic reflection second. Most of the time, I find myself driven more by attraction to colors or textures than any desire to express something internal. Frankly, any attempt at meaning gives me paralysis, so I tend to avoid it and create to stimulate my visual sense. It’s almost like automatism. Naturally, perhaps some subconscious meaning arises through my physical interaction with the paint, and through the viewer’s interaction with the end result.
Bustamante’s research in art history primarily focuses on costume and fashion history. She has a particular interest in kink and punk fashion and their migration into the mainstream fashion industry.
