Harold Washington Library Center hosts a Hispanic Heritage Month art exhibit featuring the work of local artist Erika Estefanía Doyle.
Doyle's exhibit El Alma de Buenos Aires / The Souls of Buenos Aires will be on display from September 15 through October 15 in the library's 3rd floor exhibit cases.
Artist Biography
In a mix of bright colors and different techniques, Erika's artwork is inspired by pre-Columbian cultures with samplings of primitive folk art, combined with elements of Indian, Japanese, Mayan, Argentine tango and other cultural heritages.
Her experience living among Chicago’s multicultural community has been one of the greatest influences on her work. This city has allowed her to interact with a variety of people from many parts of the world, including established and emerging artists like herself. She believes that living in this city broadens one's artistic perspective, opening the door to opportunities for learning and appreciating other cultures through the eyes of a cosmopolitan.
Erika has been painting since age 15, but events in the late 1990s put this activity on hold. She emigrated from Argentina in 2000, settling here with her family. It was not until the end of 2013, after finishing graduate school and visiting her home country, that the spark of inspiration to paint suddenly returned. These days, she is exploring techniques with watercolors, gouache and tempera. Doyle is a faculty adjunct at St. Augustine College, where she teaches art appreciation. When she is not in class, she paints at home while her toddler daughter takes a nap.
In addition to painting, Erika is an accomplished writer. She founded an ongoing literary workshop in Spanish for Café y Literatura entre Nosotros, a creative writing and artistic society from which an online magazine known as Surco was born. The mission of this project is to establish a literary and bohemian network of individuals, facilitating collaborative work and social interaction, to connect with Latin American culture and roots through writing.
Erika's educational background includes a bachelor of arts in political science and a master of public policy and administration degree from Northwestern University.
Hispanic Heritage Month Art Exhibits
More than 20 local artists are exhibiting at CPL during Hispanic Heritage Month.
