Issis Macias
Is an artist living and working in Madison, Wisconsin.
Macias, a self-taught artist and daughter of Mexican immigrants, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her creative journey is deeply rooted in the community and the diverse array of artists she has encountered throughout her life. In 2020, amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, Macias navigated a major career shift and the transformative experience of becoming a new mother. During this time, she turned to painting with renewed purpose—using creativity as a way to process change, find healing, and reinvent herself.
Through her intuitive, abstract practice, Macias explores personal experiences, memory, and the healing of generational trauma. Her work transforms the intimate into the universal, offering vibrant visual expressions of resilience and transformation. Macias maintains strong ties to Los Angeles through ongoing artistic collaborations.
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Macias was named the 2025 Latina Artist of the Year and is the recipient of the 2024 Micaela Salinas Artist Fellowship, sponsored by Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development. She is also a 2023–2025 Bridge Work artist at Arts + Literature Laboratory, a 2023 Forward Art Prize finalist, awarded by the Women Artists Forward Fund, and a member of the Madison Art Guild. Her work is held in private collections across the U.S., Mexico, and Europe.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My abstract paintings, unveiling an array of pigments on canvas, embody my sanctuary—a realm of meditative experiences that heal present and ancestral wounds, celebrate the vibrancy of my Mexican heritage, and honor matrilineal resilience.
My artistic approach is raw and intuitive, guided by emotions and the textures of the materials I utilize. I primarily work with acrylics and oil pastels on canvas to create vibrant and emotive compositions where color, shapes, and lines convey visual unity. Utilizing free-form techniques of layering and moving pigments with silicone wedges and bare hands allows me to surrender to the canvas and its colors. It is a spiritual process in which my mind quiets, allowing my soul to speak through textures, colors, and lines. Applying oil pastels fosters a sense of play in my practice, as spontaneous markings emerge from a meditative state.
I invite viewers into my colorful contemplative space, where each painting becomes a sanctuary for healing and transformation. My paintings create meaningful connections with the viewers by inspiring introspection about their own emotions and life journeys through intuitive abstraction. My creative palette is fueled by Mother Earth's colors, bodies of water, music, travels, and my daughter/muse—Inez.
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All photos by Martin Jenich Photography
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