Photograph by Pedro Wazzan
Toña Vegas works across photography, collage, printmaking, painting, and sculpture. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela —a troubled city within an exuberant tropical landscape —she soon became aware of the beneficial effects of nature on life in the urban context. Due to the political crisis in her country, life in the city had become intolerable. She found solace by photographing the shadows of trees on the pavement. Through acute observation and the application of digital processes, she discovered an ever-present underlying pattern in natural elements, such as cloud formations, bodies of water, dragonfly wings, and human skin, visible at different scales. Through diverse materials such as perforated paper, metal, fabric, and mosaic, her work reveals and recreates the versatility of this undisclosed matrix.
Fascinated by these patterns, she conceives site-specific artworks that enhance the interaction of geometric and organic structures in architectural spaces. The scale of these works creates an immersive experience that combines natural and human-made elements. She completed a large mosaic mural for the Zelda Glazer Soundscape Park pavilion, which will be installed shortly.
Quantum Physics revealed that everything is energy and that the interaction of energies creates every manifested thing and living creature in this world. Through her practice, she meditates on the deep energetic connections between Nature, Body, and Culture. Through photography, printing, and gestural mark-making, she explores relations between natural structures and the feelings and tensions that permeate our body and are translated into visual language.
Toña Vegas is a Miami-based Venezuelan-born mixed-media artist. She is a resident artist at Bakehouse Art Complex.
Vegas’s work intuitively explores the complexities of the interface between natural and cultural elements in urban landscapes. Informed by quantum physics and understanding that all creation is energy in constant change, she explores patterns and transformations through different media, including collage, perforated paper, metal, painting, and printing.
She holds a BFA in Psychology from the Catholic University, Caracas, Venezuela (1974), a Foundation Course at Hornsey College of Art, London, UK (1976), and a Graphic Arts Degree from the Center for Graphic Arts, Caracas (1981).
Selected solo shows include Reflexions on Visibility. Feel/Think/Create. Program of Virtual exhibits. MACZUL, Maracaibo, Venezuela (2020), Energy Matters, Imago Art in Action, Miami, Florida (2019), Inventory/takes, The Clemente Center, New York, NY (2016) in collaboration with Tony Vazquez.
Selected group exhibitions: Neither Here Nor There curated by Yi Chin Hsieh, Mifa, Miami, Florida (2025), Active Artists Collective, Private Viewing, Bermac Studios, Houston, Texas (2021), Beyond Paper Boundaries, Pan American Art Projects, Miami, Florida (2020), For Now… Coral Gables Museum, Miami, Florida (2019/20).
She is a Zelda Glazer Soundscape Park commission winner, Art in Public Places (2022). The complete mosaic mural will be installed shortly. Vegas’s sculptures appear in buildings and private collections throughout Caracas and Miami (Caracas Financial Center, Integral Arts Center, Plaz collection in Caracas, Venezuela, and Belloso-Vivas and Koslowsky collections in Miami).
Vegas‘s work has been published and reviewed in art magazines (Hudson River Art, NY, Contrabando, Caracas), digital magazines (viceversa-mag.com, nyartbeat.com, elestímulo.com, corrientealterna.net, contrapunto.com, analítica.com), newspapers (El Universal, El Mundo, El Nacional, Caracas, Register Star, Hudson, NY) and books (El Ávila en la mirada de todos. Maria Elena Ramos, Caracas 2014, Arte en Venezuela 1980-2005. Juan Carlos Palenzuela, Caracas 2014)