Devora Perez
Devora Perez lives and works in Miami, FL. Perez received her BFA from the New World School of the Arts in 2016 and her MFA from Florida International University in 2020. Perez’s exploration of abstraction, materiality, and perception allows a blurring of dimensions to occur as her work operates in the spaces between painting, sculpture, and installation. Solo exhibitions include “In Transparent Color” at the Visual Gallery, Miami Beach, FL (2023) and “Chroma in Situ (Wall-hung Series)” at the Walgreens Windows with the Bass Art Museum (2022). Select group exhibitions include “At the Edge” at Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, FL (2022), “Color + Light + Space” at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, Coral Springs, FL (2021), “It Feels Too Familiar 2021 Redux”, at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Miami, FL (2021), “A.I.M Biennial” Miami, FL (2020) and “Inter|Sectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole City” at the Corcoran Museum, Washington, D.C,(2019). She is a current resident at Laundromat Art Space. Her work is in the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum collection.
Collect Bean: What role does art play in society, and how does your work contribute to that?
Devora Perez: Art helps us make sense of the world, especially when language fails us. I don’t believe my art provides answers but is instead introspective in nature.
Collect Bean: How do you balance your practice with your daily life?
Devora Perez: Time management. I love being an artist, and my heart is for art nonprofits—I am part of a few in Miami. I also work as a digital archivist. Life gets chaotic, but I feel that is when I thrive best.
Collect Bean: How do you see your artwork fitting into the larger art world or art history?
Devora Perez: Franz Kline famously said, “The minute you step into that studio and pick up that brush, you are a part of art history, and you’ll never be lonely.” I think of this quote often when I enter the studio.
Collect Bean: How does where you grew up influence your work?
Devora Perez: Miami’s artificial and natural light, urban architecture, and the South Florida landscape are part of my visual language and inspire my work. At times, I make poetic statements about the human condition with everyday materials, and at other times, I make work reminiscent of light and space movement. It is all grounded in real life; I’d like to think that I make abstract art that is accessible to all.
Collect Bean: What is something that you do to stay focused?
Devora Perez: Simple things like writing on Post-it notes or sketching help me stay focused.
