Aida Valencia
Title: Mi Juguete
Technique: Smalti and tiffany glass
Media: Sculpture
Price: $1600
Mixed media Baja, Mexico artist Aida Valencia considers her work experimental in terms of her choice of materials. Valencia incorporates metal, glass, pebbles, and textured paint surfaces into her pieces, with an emphasis on mosaics.
Tijuana mosaic artist Aida Valencia works out of her studio, Casa Valencia, and is known for reinterpreting Mexico's traditional crafts and ancient techniques from Europe with a contemporary vocabulary. She studied classical mosaic techniques in Ravenna, Italy and borrows readily from both the ancient world and current trends.
In addition to her personal art, Valencia, 47, works on commissions for businesses and homes in the U.S. and Mexico, creating art and furnishings. Born in San Diego, she has spent most of her life in Tijuana. Her business began in 1996, when a construction worker taught her to set tile. Her showroom (with partner Brenda Parra) now features mosaics of many designs.
In a 2002 Los Angeles Times article, writer Anne-Marie OíConnor said that Valencia has often been compared to Spain’s Antonio Gaudi, whose Barcelona mosaic work is renowned. "A friend of mine brought a book of Gaudi's work from Barcelona to show me," Valencia said."I began to buy books myself, to open my mind to other people's artistic styles and see the possibilities."
