Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Guttin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Born and raised in Mexico City, Becky Guttin is an internationally exhibited artist who has been a guest lecturer worldwide and has received seven art prizes. Guttin has participated in seventeen International Art Symposia and fifteen Art Biennales. Has been featured in thirty-seven solo exhibitions. She has worked in numerous countries. Fifty of her pieces belong to permanent collections in museums and private and public spaces, such as universities, consulates, sculpture parks, cultural centers, hospitals, and schools. She worked at Scripps Hospital Encinitas for five years, leading art therapy workshops.
Her four grandparents were born abroad, in Poland, Latvia and Belgium. Her parents were both Mexican, so were her kids and herself. She grew up multiculturally. Her art is influenced because of this mix of cultures.
There are several things that are similar in traditions or values and at the same time many oppositions and differences.
Becky Guttin continues to create sculpture, drawings, mixed media pieces, photography, calligraphy, installations and video.
She lives and works in San Diego.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes and no. When it comes to creating, I have always been very determined. Nothing really stops me. Even when I look around my studio and realize it is getting more and more crowded with artworks, I keep creating. It is something I need to do.
The difficult part has been finding opportunities and spaces to show the work. As artists, we create because we have something we need to express, but we also want the work to leave the studio—to be seen, experienced, and to have a life of its own.
Being a woman artist has also presented challenges. When I began my career in Mexico City, opportunities and recognition for women were much more limited, not only in Mexico but throughout the art world. Fortunately, I have seen important changes over the years, and today there is greater awareness and recognition of women artists.
So no, the road has not always been smooth. There have been obstacles, disappointments, and times when opportunities did not come. But none of that has ever stopped me from creating. Art is my life. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. Whether I have an invitation to exhibit or not, I will continue making art. That’s my life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I consider myself a multidisciplinary artist. Sculpture is an important part of my practice, and I work with many different materials, including glass, metal, wood, natural roots, and found or discarded objects. I also create wall works that I don’t really consider paintings. They are made with a mixed-media technique that I developed myself.
There is a very practical reason behind developing this technique. I am a petite woman and I work alone in my studio, without assistants. I never wanted my physical size to determine the scale of my work or limit what I could create. I needed to find materials and processes that I could handle myself while still allowing me to think and work on a large scale. In a way, limitations pushed me to invent my own solutions.
Glass has been an important material throughout my career, but I don’t consider myself only a glass artist. I draw, work with handmade paper and Korean ink, create calligraphy, installations, wall works, and sculptures ranging from intimate pieces to large-scale works. My calligraphy has also taken me to Korea, where I have been invited repeatedly to participate as an invited artist in international biennales.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work and exhibit in different countries. Those experiences have been extraordinary, not only professionally but also for my personal growth. I am very proud that my work is now part of private and public collections in different parts of the world. Seeing my work exhibited in museums has also been an important achievement in my life.
Perhaps what I am most proud of, however, is that I am still curious. I still want to experiment, learn, and challenge myself. I am approaching 72, but I still feel “young.” My mind and my spirit are young and strong, and I have the energy and desire to continue creating and doing my best work.
I don’t like to define myself by one material or one technique. I am an artist. The material is simply the language I choose for what I want to say.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I love collaborations! It can be as simple as getting in touch with me, and then the dialogue starts.
I enjoy exchanging ideas with other artists, architects, designers, institutions, and anyone interested in my work. Collaborations can open unexpected doors and sometimes take the work in directions I might not have discovered on my own.
People can also support my work by visiting my exhibitions, following and sharing my work, or simply reaching out. I am always open to new projects, commissions, exhibitions, and possibilities.
For me, it all starts with a conversation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beckyguttin.com
- Instagram: Becky Guttin
- Facebook: Becky Guttin
- LinkedIn: Becky Guttin
