Angelina Salgado, The Grief Alchemist
Bio
Angelina Salgado is a visual artist and art educator, based in NJ. The eldest daughter of Filipino immigrants, Angelina was born and raised in New York. She received her AAS in Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology, pursued a double major in Art History and Studio Art at Hunter College, then earned her Master’s degree in Art and Museum Education from the City College of New York. She has taught in several art museums and cultural institutions across NYC, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of Arts & Design, the New-York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, among several others. She brought her eclectic experience in art and museum education to the elementary art classroom, first, at a charter school in Harlem, then later, at two elementary public schools in Northern NJ. After the sudden and traumatic death of her infant daughter, Angelina creates art in memory of Aurora Annette, while caring for Aurora’s identical twin sister. Angelina paints everyday, and her artwork has been featured in gallery exhibitions in New York City and northern New Jersey. Angelina most recently made her art fair debut at Superfine NYC in September 2023!
Artist Statement
My baby, Aurora Annette, died unexpectedly, three days after she and her identical twin sister were 2 months old. I alchemize my grief and trauma into art, inspired by the Aurora Borealis , and each one dedicated to Aurora Annette. Through my art, I explore and externalize the complexities and layers of grief. My grief is exacerbated by my past trauma. For over 3 years, I struggled with primary infertility due to Stage 3 Endometriosis. I had two invasive surgeries, 10 months apart. After which, I endured a cycle of in-vitro fertilization, leading to a high risk pregnancy & emergency c-section 7 weeks early. Because my babies were born premature, they stayed in the NICU for a month before coming home. On September 24, we found her limp and unresponsive. Her death was ruled as Sudden Unexplained Infant Death. My art has become the primary outlet for my grief and emotions in losing my baby so unexpectedly.
Light and dark, although total opposites, coexist in nature. Similarly, joy and grief can coexist after the death of your child. My grief journey and my art practice have become intertwined and inform each other. Painting every single day allows me to explore, express, and externalize the emotions and trauma from losing Aurora, from no longer being a twin mom, and from the ways Endometriosis and infertility have impacted my life. However, it’s in realizing we need both light and dark to live a full and complete life. You need to acknowledge the presence and necessity of the dark, in order to see the stars. The optimal light conditions for seeing the Aurora Borealis are far from bright city lights, in the darkest regions of the Arctic. Just as in order to truly see the colorshift in my artwork, you must endure the darkness of my grief.
Please contact us for pricing.
