ISSIS MACIAS

Macias is a self-taught abstract painter and emerging curator, born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She began painting in 2012, inspired by a community of artists in downtown Los Angeles. In 2020, painting took on a deeper meaning. After a difficult birth and a layoff at the start of the pandemic, she returned to the canvas while navigating motherhood and an uncertain future. What began as a refuge became a way to process emotion and find meaning beyond words.

Working primarily with acrylic and oil pastel, Macias creates intuitive abstractions through vibrant layers of color, using silicone wedges and her bare hands to let shapes and gestural marks emerge through play. As a Latina artist and daughter of Mexican immigrants, she draws on ancestral memory and matrilineal resilience. Her work is also shaped by motherhood and a deep connection to water and nature, informed by her previous career in water conservation. Through painting, she continues to explore healing and transformation while finding joy in the present moment.

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Her paintings are held in the public collections of UW Health Eastpark Medical Center and UW Health American Family Children’s Hospital, as well as private collections across the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Her public art commissions include projects for the Madison Public Market and LunART Festival. She was a 2023–2025 Bridge Work artist at Arts + Literature Laboratory and a 2023 Forward Art Prize finalist through the Women Artists Forward Fund in Madison.

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Beyond the studio, Macias connects with her community through teaching, artist talks in Spanish and English, curatorial work, and collaborative projects with artists across Wisconsin and Los Angeles. She believes art brings people together and helps us feel seen through the stories we share.