Artist Bio:
I was born in New York City. My parents were both immigrants who came to the United States later in life. From a young age, I was exposed to the art of both my parents’ cultures through travel and visits with family, experiences that deeply shaped my artistic perspective. I’m inspired by traditional Italian portraiture and figurative painting, as well as the vibrant colors often seen in Brazilian mural paintings. In 2017, I earned my Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the New York Academy of Art.
Currently, I am a visual artist and educator based in Houston, Texas. I am a full-time faculty member at Houston Community College. I find great joy in sharing my passion for the arts with my students. Today, teaching has become an integral part of my practice, as many of my artworks pay homage to my students and the experiences I’ve had in the classroom.
Artist Statement:
Darla Barolini holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the New York Academy of Art in New York, NY. She is a full-time faculty member in the arts department at Houston Community College. Darla’s work has been showcased in various group exhibitions across Texas, New York, and other regions, and she was recently featured in the New American Painting West publication.
Darla’s artistic practice centers on creating large-scale figurative paintings that blend oil and acrylic paint. She works from a mixture of photography and life, creating final images primarily from imagination, combining random people and scenes that never existed. Her current series explores education and the classroom, inspired by her personal experiences as an educator at Houston Community College. These vibrant, expressive, and colorful paintings depict imagined students and scenes from the teacher’s perspective, exploring themes of connection, community, teamwork, and acceptance, juxtaposed with underlying currents of apathy, isolation, distraction, and dissociation. These pieces reflect the diverse and dynamic nature of contemporary education and today’s student body.
