About this episode

Paloma Vianey discusses her artistic journey and the impact of her work as an artist from Ciudad Juarez.

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Paloma Vianey! About Paloma Vianey: Interdisciplinary artist from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico , now based in Washington, DC. She holds an MFA from Cornell University and has created large-scale public art installations along the US-Mexico border, with work exhibited at major museums and galleries internationally. She is primarily a painter and educator, teaching at the collegiate level. In our conversation, Vianey walks through her artistic journey from beginning to paint as a teenager when Juarez was labeled "the most dangerous city in the world," using art as catharsis during years of violence. She recounts completing a groundbreaking 72-foot-wide community-funded border bridge mural in 2018, depicting a girl blowing bubbles with each bubble representing emblematic images of Juarez including a tribute to femicide victims. We dig into her signature "Chamara" paintings—labor-intensive works where she hand-sews canvas jackets with industrial zippers over oil-painted urban landscapes of Juarez, creating what she calls "portraits of the city." One painting captured a pink house she'd see every time crossing the border—until one visit…

People in this episode

Host: Rob Lee

Guest: Paloma Vianey

Topics covered

• art
• community
• resilience
• Juarez
• public art
• education

Keywords

• Paloma Vianey
• art
• Juarez
• public art
• community
• MFA
• painting
• femicide
• resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cornell University

Books & works: Chamara, 72-foot-wide community-funded border bridge mural, pink house

Places: Ciudad Juarez, Washington, DC

More episodes of The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter

• Louis-Antoine Gilbert Interview: French-American Painter on Cubism, Moebius & Art Deco · July 13, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Zoë Poindexter: A Revolution Called Love, Black Love Day, and Storytelling for Us · July 9, 2026 · 1h 16m
• Miles Johnson Interview - MJ On The Wall | Engineer Turned Self-Taught Painter · July 2, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Bernard Feinsod | 17 Years Behind the Scenes: Vice Media to Going Solo · June 29, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Jacob Ming-Trent · June 27, 2026 · 52 min
• Solana Rostick · June 25, 2026 · 57 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter podcast page.