Artist Process Video Series: Veronica Corzo-Duchardt

Veronica Corzo-Duchardt is the next star of our Artist Process Video Series, where we shine the spotlight on some of our incredible Permanent Collection artists and the process behind how they create their art.

Every artist approaches their work differently, and a look at their process is an intimate look into their values, the purpose of their art, and their relationship with creativity. We know that you’ll be inspired by each of these videos, just as we were, and they’ll maybe even encourage some experimentation within your own creative practice, whatever that may be. 

A Studio Visit With Veronica Corzo-Duchardt 

Veronica Corzo-Duchardt is a visual artist, a graphic designer, and a first-generation Cuban-American immigrant. She recently moved to Los Angeles, although she called Chicago home for over 10 years. Veronica is a multimedia artist, working with screen printing, photocopying, spray paint, drawing, photography, and found or collected objects. She works iteratively, often creating several layered versions of a single idea or image. Her work is graphic, layered, and full of fragmented and evolving imagery. 

In this video, Veronica comes to us from her studio in LA, which is a room in her apartment. She explains that oftentimes her work has to change depending on where she is, how much room she has, and how settled in she is. Her LA studio is still being set-up, so Veronica can not yet work on new screen printing projects, a process which requires tons of equipment. Instead, she is working with different mediums, choosing materials which are easier to use and less messy. It’s interesting to consider how the different bodies of Veronica’s work (and any artist really!) are determined not purely by the artist’s desires or ideas, but by their material circumstances. 

Telling Complex Stories With Objects 

The Neche Collection is the series of work that Veronica is best known for, and makes up the majority of the work that IPaintMyMind has in our Permanent Collection. Neche was the name of Veronica’s grandfather, and these pieces feature his belongings prominently. In fact, each finished print is a kind of fossil or imprint of an object that once belonged to Neche. The series is a testament to their relationship and to her identity as a Cuban-American. 

Neche was a huge part of Veronica’s childhood, and helped to raise her. She remembers how she used to sneak into his office and play with his belongings and the objects on his desk. When he died, she got possession of many of these objects, which also included many of her toys that her grandfather had stored carefully for safekeeping. This reunion with some of the powerful objects of her childhood inspired Veronica to make a contained series of prints. 

The Neche Collection began in 2011, and ran for 29 weeks. Each day, Veronica would photograph an object that was her grandfather’s. At the end of each week she would make a screen print. These prints were created from her photography. She would take the photos and upload them to Photoshop, where she would manipulate the color and contrast. She would then transfer them onto a transparency, and burn her screens from these manipulated images. Some were recognizable as their object of origin, and others were abstracted into patterns or texture. All in all, she photographed 149 objects. 

In the process of creating the Neche Collection, Veronica experimented with imposing constraints on herself. She created only 15 copies of each print, and sized them each at 11×14, which is relatively small. Finally, she worked with two or three colors in each print, eliminating the most time consuming part of the screen printing process. She says that these constraints allowed her to dive deeper into the creation of the work, and to explore themes and ideas without having to be preoccupied with the technical details. 

The result is an intensely focused body of work, exploring the abstract connotations and meanings of familiar objects. Veronica traces a story of relationships through the network of her grandfather’s objects: her relationship with him, her relationship to Cuba, and her family’s relationship to America. She spends time lovingly reflecting on each object and its visual qualities, both obvious and hidden. 

New Work and New Focuses 

Today, Veronica’s work is focused on a different set of mediums. She is focusing on work that uses an old photocopier to distort images and conjure new shapes and forms. She also uses sugar and coffee grounds, materials linked to her Cuban-American identity. She will pour the sugar or coffee directly on the photocopier, creating spontaneous shapes. She uses the shapes to collage or paint with or create screen prints from. 

Part of Veronica’s iterative approach to her artistic practice is that she often tries to dive deeper, rather than spreading herself too widely. The care and time she puts into her pieces is evident, and the layers of meaning contained in each one holds your attention. Veronica Corzo-Duchardt is a unique artist with an intense process. Her work explores relationships, personal stories, and her roots as a Cuban-American. She will inspire you to look deeper and more creatively at the objects that surround you and ask: what boundless set of meanings does each simple thing contain? 

Submit Your Work + Stay Tuned For More Artist Process Videos

If you are an artist who wants to get involved with IPaintMyMind, and to be a part of our permanent collection, submit your artwork. We love the meaningful relationships that we have with each of our partner artists, and are always excited to expand our circle. Get paid to have your art benefit private schools and Chicago Public Schools through our Shared Walls™ program. 

The first two videos in the IPaintMyMind Artist Process Video Series by Michelle Chandra, and Russell Muits, are also fantastic, providing a cool and clear proof of  how unique and inspiring each artist’s process is. 

Make sure to stay tuned for more entries into our Artist Process Video Series!