Episode
Paloma Vianey | Painting Through "The Most Dangerous City in the World"
- Published
- Jul 6, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3219
- Processing state
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- https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/episodes/paloma-dove-vianey
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Summary
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Paloma Vianey! About Paloma Vianey: Interdisciplinary artist from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico , now based in Washington, DC. She holds an MFA from Cornell University and has created large-scale public art installations along the US-Mexico border, with work exhibited at major museums and galleries internationally. She is primarily a painter and educator, teaching at the collegiate level. In our conversation, Vianey walks through her artistic journey from beginning to paint as a teenager when Juarez was labeled "the most dangerous city in the world," using art as catharsis during years of violence. She recounts completing a groundbreaking 72-foot-wide community-funded border bridge mural in 2018, depicting a girl blowing bubbles with each bubble representing emblematic images of Juarez including a tribute to femicide victims. We dig into her signature "Chamara" paintings—labor-intensive works where she hand-sews canvas jackets with industrial zippers over oil-painted urban landscapes of Juarez, creating what she calls "portraits of the city." One painting captured a pink house she'd see every time crossing the border—until one visit when she discovered it had been painted white. "That was a little heartbreaking for me," she shares, explaining how these works archive the changing memory of her hometown through a lens of resilience and hope. She shares insights on finding community in DC after moving six times in five years, her love for the U Street corridor (particularly Taqueria Xochi for authentic Mexican food), and how DC has been generous in giving her platforms to show her work. This conversation came about after I encountered Vianey's work at Umbrella Art Fair—a chance discovery that sparked a deeper dialogue about r…