Paulina Ree
Artist based in Oslo, Norway
ABOUT
Paulina Ree was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1981. She moved to New Jersey, USA at the age of fifteen, and then went on to graduate with a degree in Economics from Boston College in 2006. Paulina then moved to London, United Kingdom to work as a paralegal and studied to earn a Law degree from the College of Law in 2012.
In 2011 she moved to Oslo, Norway where she currently resides with her husband and three daughters. Paulina participated in an artist Critique Group with the Artist Mother Podcast program in 2020, which she is still involved in. Additionally, she attends painting classes on an ongoing basis with Carl-Martin Sandvold at the Oslo Malerklubb – Autumn 2021 until the present.
Paulina is a member of Artist Mums United, Spilt Milk, Thrive Together Network, Art She Says, The Curator’s Salon.
Paulina is the founder of Female Artists Oslo and Female Artists Nordic.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work revolves around themes of memory, rumination, mental health, and human experience, with particular focus on the emotions of raising children in the absence of a “village.” My work expresses the longing I have for the life I knew growing up. It also explores the ways I am learning to love myself – body and mind – and the ways I am learning to understand both. It is an introspection as much as it is a story of the life I have lived and of those who have been a part of it.
Born and raised in Ecuador until I was fifteen years old, I moved to the United States in high school where I lived as an undocumented immigrant for over a decade. I trained as an economist and lawyer and kept my passion for art as my outlet for stress relief and self-expression. I looked forward to the day when I would be able to pursue art full-time.
For nearly twenty years, mental health issues held me back from creating art, but recently I returned to my practice as a way of finding resilience. In 2020 I suffered a mental breakdown. To build back my sense of self, and find peace in the present, I turned my attention back to art and I am now mindfully growing my art practice and my work.
I use music and old photographs as my main inspiration. Growing up surrounded by music, my grandfather is a musician and my memories from childhood are filled with singing in family gatherings. I see my life as a rokola, an old style jukebox, music always in the background for the highs and lows of life. I am working on a series titled after well known boleros, a music style popular in my native Ecuador.
Website: paulinareeartist.com
Instagram: @adiosalasfresas