Rizy Fz
About | Rixy is a contemporary painter, street artist, educator, and storyteller who conceptualizes feminine divinity in their various forms. She reinterprets fantastical stories of agency and identity – like episodes of a never-ending cartoon. Approaching “sensuality” as a range of one’s mind, body, and soul, the stylized work mixes mediums like loose paints, fabric, & drawing tools to create these characters or ‘sabores’ (flavors). Here, this practice is for one’s reflection of our various layers, and to test the limits of one’s depicted. She received her BA in Studio Art at UMass Boston, with a concentration in Sculpture, that go beyond physical practice – understanding space, community, and what we feel in between. She has received the 2019 Ruth Butler Travel Fellowship for a Studio Residency in Mexico, and the 2017 Arts|Learning Award for Student Arts Advocacy. Her passion to expand her practice personifies her drive to educate and to provide access to the Arts for others. This has allowed her to evolve into a Teacher and Director, recently becoming an Adjunct Instructor at the Boston Architectural College, & the Public Art Coordinator of Central Sq’s BID’s “Speak Your Piece” Campaign; exhibiting on street-wide to institutional walls.
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? Drawing the Powerpuff Girls & Pokemon as a super young child, was some of my earliest memories. I was so inspired by cartoons & animations, & it really stuck with me since. I turned any surface into a canvas to doodle & put out cartoons.
When did art become a pursuit? Right before graduating UMass, I changed my major more than 6 times, realizing nothing was making me as happy than making art. I switched my track, made work I could exhibit out of school, & once I graduated & needed to enter the “real world,” I knew I had to fall into my arts as much as I could.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? Mostly self-taught. Once I decided to switch my track in school, I had a basic practice & was able to learn to new applications to bring back home. Even then, I still blended it to what I wanted to continue focusing on. Yet, I give most of my knowledge to all I’ve been able to experience, as a teacher.
How did you first become involved with CAA? CAA was having an Emerging Artists Show & it felt like a space I wanted to be a part of with other fresh artists. I was honored to win a Juror’s Choice Award that has granted me a membership to amazing access to other programming in CAA.
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? Aside from exhibiting work, I predominately create murals for the public, teach, direct & curate accessible art for others. If I can’t paint, I feel implored to help others do so, & allow everyone to see it. I have taught several workshops & classes from kids to adults in college, to challenge our capabilities in the arts education sector of our institutions. Once with other artists, I provide mentorship + direction for group programming, & curate several experiences for the creatives of all kinds of projects.
What role do you think the artist plays in society? The artist plays several roles, & in hindsight should reflect a new perspective of how they & others are allowed to occupy space. Be it through joy & peace, or deliberate & defensive response, or more, the artist is creating something new to inspire several conversations amongst others.
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? I’m mostly approaching a mixed media practice so that the process & tools reflect my personal response to a new moment, the available resources, & constrictions. I enjoy leading with painting & drawing mediums because of the many textures & layers we can make from them, but combining fabric, household liquids, & industrial compounds with these, show the range of the characters depicted. I choose my mediums truly based off the essence i’d like the piece to emote.
What is your creative process? Where are you finding ideas for your art these days? Typically my ideas stem from world building my space full of many realistic elements, but in my own style or “sabor” (flavor). This means being inspired from people in life, fantasy/dreams, the depths of our ‘nature’, our aim to heal & love, & so much of the grass that grows in between. Anything is a source of inspiration. But now a days, when everything is blurring, I find my ideas during solitude & reflection after experiencing moments around me.
How do you choose your subject matter? Is there a reoccurring theme that carries throughout your work? My subject matter tend to fall on feminine lines, characterizing the range of the womxn we are & all we can be. As a womxn that occupies many ideas & realms, I wanted to depict all the ways womxn can be represented, when it wasn’t in my cartoons as a kid. The theme is a translation of the characters we are.
In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made? Oh boy, that’s hard. In every moment, that piece is my favorite! But as of now, “All At Once” definitely is a top for me. Making it in Mexico with emotions & tools from that city, makes it so much more special – it was a literal diary entry of my last few days on my study abroad & has the most meshing of mediums i’ve used & had the freedom to explore.
What is one of your artistic goals? There are plenty for sure – for now & later. The most relevant is grounding my studio & business practice so that I can be in this career with stability that can take me around the world.
What’s your favorite place to see art, and why? Any museum has plenty of creative source – even if it’s not my ‘favorite’ discipline. Anywhere I travel, I’m finding any kind of art museum that place has access to.
So far my time down South in Louisiana, Florida & Mexico, have been a thick string in my life however—where there is an amazing range of street art, contemporary work (especially focused on the Caribbean & Latinidad) & exceptionally large scale pieces that reflect the space & communities. I like seeing art that grow beyond “limits” & bounds, & intertwining these elements of their land. Plus, the nice weather makes for lovely vibrant colors.
What living artists are you inspired by? It’s hard narrowing these answers down when we consume so much around us. When diving into art though, my biggest inspirations were Mika Rottenburg, Os Gemeos, & Francisco Goya.
Do you own any art by other artists? Is so, what artists? Of course! Mostly by other friends: several prints, illustrations, comic books/novels, merchandise, toys/sculptures, & small mixed media drawings. I’ve collected studio literature from artists like James Jean, Hokusai, & historical narratives.
Do you have any shows coming up? I have murals coming up for the warm weather in and out of state, an amazing residency with a public artivism organization, and behind it all, I’m working towards another hopeful solo show for next year!
See more from Rixy
Website: rixyfz.com
Instagram: @rixyfz