EXPLORING PORTRAITURE THROUGH ABSTRACTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH YIGSY MAGALY
Katherine Gonzalez—professionally known as Yigsy Magaly— was born in El Salvador, before migrating to New Jersey, where she currently resides. She received her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she was granted the Scarlet Promise and Ruth Crocket Art awards. She has showcased her works with the North Brooklyn Coalition, UGLY Gallery and Caelum Gallery.
Yigsy Magaly’s main mode of expression is portraiture. Whether it's abstract expressionism, minimalism, or hyper realism, her main focus is to translate emotions through portraits: not only capturing a moment, or person’s profile, but capturing the internal essence of her subject. Her goal is to challenge the notion of what portraiture can represent.
More recently, Magaly’s work has adopted a more abstract nature, while still exploring the same themes that are present within her figurative paintings. Incorporating a linear abstract pattern, her interest lies in merging realism with linear abstraction. Her hope is that the combination of flatness and two-dimensional shapes help create a spatial illusion within the works — while still being able to be read emotionally. However, she doesn’t strive to fully get away from realism, but to expand the possibilities of figurative art by merging figures and abstract patterns successfully.
