Interview
Bevin Mirielle
Bevin Mirielle was born to create a different world for herself, and strived to build a new perspective for everyone around her. She grows to liven her imaginations through scratched looseleaf and bleeding ink - a fantasy of happiness. Bevin creates two-dimensional works of varying mediums with her favorite method being collage. She was born in the Philippines, but was raised in New York for almost her whole life. Currently, she works as a school teacher, and continues to practice her art in New York City. Bevin obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Arts at SUNY Purchase in 2020. She was given a sculpture award in 2014, and later nominated to be a peer mentor for first-year Art + Design students in 2019. In the last six years, Bevin has presented her art at several exhibitions in New York, including her most recent showing at the Pimcomedy Art Show in March 2023. Her artwork has also been featured in Submissions Magazine, Mixed Magazine, Rockland Arts Festival, and the Artists Forum. In June of 2023, Bevin will be painting a mural on the streets of Brooklyn; imagining, envisioning, and visualizing an idealized future for everyone to see.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Arts at SUNY Purchase. I pursued art because creating was almost second nature to me and I was good at it. I sought to expand other's perspectives by sharing my experience with mental illness and sexual abuse.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“My work is an amalgam of my deep inner thoughts, dreams, and the beauty of the world around me. I believe that there can be beauty within anything and always a story to be told. I always had to fight for my voice to be heard and inevitably found myself spilling my emotion into my artwork. It's difficult living with a mental illness even if you're being treated for it. It's a serious medical condition that most find difficult to discuss, open up about, share with others, etc. Mental wellness is essential to living a healthy life, therefore, we should strive to love ourselves just as we would with each other.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“I always plan my work in advance because I do everything with intention. There is always a specific meaning that I draw from when I have an idea for a project. The only ways I improvise are through the marks I decide to make on the surface.”
Are there any art world trends you are following?
“I like to draw my inspiration from modern and contemporary artists, particularly art movements such as impressionism and abstract expressionism. I enjoy creating representational art that plays on abstraction.”
What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?
“I begin my art process by formulating an idea or concept that I can relate to and have experienced in my life. The materials I choose typically coincide with the theme for the project and its history. I tend to focus on composition, mark-making, and the subject throughout the duration of the project's creation.”
“I like to draw my inspiration from modern and contemporary artists, particularly art movements such as impressionism and abstract expressionism.”
What does your art mean to you?
“Art is a unique form of self-expression that allows the creator to share their inner thoughts through a nonverbal means. Art connects the world around us, whether the artist is physically present in the room or not. It has a huge impact on our perception of reality, and can even open up our minds to ideas that may be difficult to portray in other ways.”
What’s your favorite artwork and why?
“My favorite artwork is "Rhythm 0" by performance artist, Marina Abramovic. This is my favorite piece of all time because it provides a different view of reality, the aspects of society, and the impact others and the external can have on ourselves. In my opinion, performance art is the best form of conceptual art. It opens up viewers' perspectives by bringing the art directly to you. It is almost like a social experiment in which the artist tests the audience in an effort to convey the true meaning and purpose of the work itself.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“ =My work has been shown in numerous exhibitions including It's COMplicated (2016), I Don't Know (2019), Twenty.one (2019) and PIMComedy Art Show (2023).”
