Gwendolyn Aqui
Mixed Media Fiber Artist

BIOGRAPHY
Gwendolyn Aqui specializes in mixed media work that includes art quilts, dolls, works on paper and canvas. She says of her work, “Art is my life! I feel alive when I’m creating whether it be a painting, quilt or doll! It is important that I never allow myself to get stuck in a rut! If , by chance, I find myself in a box, I must find a way of escape!”

Ms. Aqui received her BFA in Art Education from Howard University, and a Master’s degree in Education from Trinity College. She has expertise as an art consultant, teacher, therapist and owner/director of The Climbing Tree Gallery and Art on Wheels.

Much of her inspiration comes from traveling to such colorful places as Brazil, West Africa and Trinidad and Tobago. Her love affair with textiles began over ten years ago while living in the Gambia. She discovered the richness of her ancestral spirits through the vivid colors and textures of local fabrics.

The art quilts that Gwendolyn creates are vibrantly multihued hybrids of syncopated patchwork, geometric abstraction and narrative themes. They consist of fabric, paint, buttons, sequins, various types of threads and beadwork. The work is always hand sewn! She prefers to work without the aid of sketches, but rather to begin her creative journey with a circle. Representations of figures, faces, patterns, plant forms and symbols merge to produce dazzling compositions.

She has been honored with awards and exhibitions by such revered institutions as Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission; Maryland Stat Arts Council (FYI 2002 Individual Artist Award); Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont; the Arts in Embassies Program; the Arts Club of Washington; Biennale Internazionale Dell’Arte Contemporanea; Washington Urban League; the Gallery at the American Bible Society; International Artists Support Group; Color, the Chicago Black Fine Art Exposition hosted by Oprah Winfrey; The International Review of African American Art; Howard University Gallery of Art; Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda; National Museum of Science and Industry. Her works are in public and corporate collections, both locally and abroad.