LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Clay Mata’s house studio is her pleased place. The handfuls of spray paint cans and bottles of acrylic scattered throughout a desk cowl a rainbow of colours. Vibrant work depicting all the things from online game characters to popular culture icons and Mexican people artwork influences line the partitions. A home made Frida Kahlo rug channels the vitality of considered one of Mata’s favourite artists.
“I actually suppose she’s courageous,” Mata stated of Frida Kahlo, a well-known Mexican painter greatest identified for her brightly coloured, typically emotional self-portraits. “She is tremendous chingona.” (Chingona is a Spanish time period used to explain ladies one considers to be “badass”, succesful or proficient.)
Very like the work of Frida Kahlo, Mata’s work is stuffed with sensible colours.
“[Color] could be very, essential. I really feel like all the things in Mexico is colourful, even the meals. Like in the event you simply see a bowl — like a plate is colourful and all the things is colourful, the dancing, the music, all the things about our tradition is so colourful and I like it.”
Clay Mata poses with a mural she painted outdoors Taco Choza in Louisville. (Clay Mata)
On at the present time, Mata is remodeling a closet door in her house studio right into a vibrant mural of a cat with wings. She’s portray an alebrije, an imaginery creature typically seen in Mexican or Oaxacan people artwork. She makes use of a mix of stencils, spray paint and acrylic paint to breathe life into the fantastical beast.
Mata’s Mexican heritage is as distinguished in her work because the daring colours she brushes throughout her canvas, which isn’t at all times a closet door. It may very well be a jacket, sneakers, a wall — even the aspect of a constructing. From wearable artwork to ornamental items, her work sells to purchasers all throughout the nation.
Mata resides out her childhood dream with each brushstroke. She was a little bit lady when she found her love for drawing on the bottom of Churchill Downs.
“Sooner or later I used to be simply sitting there [at Churchill Downs] whereas my dad and mom have been strolling horses. I began to attract on napkins and I used to be like, ‘Oh, I’m good.’ My first drawing was a cardinal from the UofL,” recalled Mata.
Drawing inspiration from Muhammad Ali, Pokémon, a Muñeca, The Golden Women, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, even Frida Kahlo, Mata’s present work options all the things from popular culture and historic icons to Mexican people artwork influences.
Mata’s artwork will probably be featured in a number of Hispanic Heritage Month occasions. Later this month, Mata will return to the place the place her dream of changing into an artist started. She’s doing a stay artwork presentation at Downs After Darkish at Churchill Downs on Sept. 24.
Two of Mata’s work are additionally on show within the Kentucky State Capitol Rotunda, a part of the Kentucky Arts Council’s “Our Kentucky Dwelling” exhibit that includes a few of the state’s Hispanic, Latin American and Latinx artists.
“I didn’t notice what number of Hispanic artists are in Kentucky, in order that was thrilling,” stated Mata. “I don’t see lots of like Hispanic artwork museums or reveals right here in Kentucky. So it was actually thrilling to listen to about that as a result of that’s what I do—I do lots of like Hispanic artwork as a result of I’m at all times impressed with the Mexican tradition.”
The “Our Kentucky Dwelling” exhibit is on show from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday by Friday within the Capitol Rotunda by Oct. 5. The exhibit will then journey to LexArts Gallery in Lexington and The Kentucky Middle in Louisville.
Editor’s notice: In a earlier model of this story “alebrije” was misspelled. The error has been corrected.