Vyczie Dorado
Vyczie Dorado is a New York City-based painter originally from central Florida. Vyczie received her BFA at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and was a recipient of the Oxbow Residency in 2021, her first solo show with Swivel Gallery in August 2022, and recently finished a residency with Eighth House Residency in Vermont summer of 2024. She has been featured in publications for the Fondazione Imago Mundi curatorial series, Hyperallergic’s “A View from the Easel,” Ouch! Magazine’s Issue 2, “Emergency Index Vol. 9,” an annual book publication by Ugly Duckling Presse, “Ecotone,” a drawing anthology, and most recently on Smack Mellon’s “Hot Picks: 2023.”
Born into this cyber age, Vyczie’s practice examines the personas we build for online, digital echo chambers, and manicured profiles that gloss over real-world climate change. In addition to her painting practice, Vyczie also performs in relation to maternity and internet safety.
Collect Bean: What is one of your current goals as an artist?
Vyczie Dorado: To work on pieces as much as I can. There is just a very distinct exhaustion for everyone right now, I noticed, either from being constantly exposed to horrific news and products or just oversaturation with media; either way, it’s difficult to stay motivated and focused. So, whenever I can, I try to work on artwork as much as possible. That could be through sketching, painting, boredom, or anything that allows me to be creative and slow to realign myself.
Collect Bean: How do you approach the balance between experimentation and consistency in your art?
Vyczie Dorado: Tbh, I try not to think about it, lol. I have always tried to experiment in my practice through every work and believe my hand will be prominent in each piece. Worrying about consistency too much or thinking that I should do something super experimental and different can kill the momentum I have in making a work. If I experiment, I have to decide that early in the process, but the consistency will always be there, and if it’s not, that’s growth, that’s change, I want that.
Collect Bean: Are there any recurring themes or motifs in your art, and if so, what do they represent to you?
Vyczie Dorado: A recurring motif is this Jack in the Box-looking character. They have a white head, rectangular eyes, and red cone nose. The inspo didn’t come from Jack in the Box, lol, but actually a mix of old PlayStation games. The eyes and simple shape are reminiscent of Katamari Damacy, Kirby, and Chulip, and I continue to look at these resources for design inspiration. What attracts me to them is that I like the playable character that people place themselves in, and I want that to transfer to my character when people look at these paintings.
Collect Bean: How do you balance your practice with your daily life?
Vyczie Dorado: This might be toxic, but I like blending my practice with daily life. I try to bring my sketchbook or drawings wherever I go (when I think I’ll have a minute to sit down and think); I currently have a section of my apartment devoted to being my studio again just because when I used to work in my living space, that was when I was the most productive and creative. I know there’s contention about separating the work and living space, but since I’ve always had my studio in my living space, it just makes sense to keep it that way.
Collect Bean: If you could be in a show with any artist, who would it be and why?
Vyczie Dorado: In a show, I’d love to be with Obi Agwam, Caroline Absher, Julian Alexander, Brianna Rose Brooks, Larissa De Jesús Negrón, Hilda Palafox, Veronica Fernandez, and so many others, tbh.
Whether in one show or different group shows, I think all of our works would play nicely together as the kind of animated motif we all have going on is a thread that unites all of our works visually. I think we are all united narratively by the way we handle subject matter in our works. It’d be a really squishy show, really crunchy, too, and that would be my dream lineup. I also look at a lot of these artists for inspiration, and they all definitely influence me a lot, so being in a show with them would be an honor :)
