Pilar Cortés was born 1982 in Mexico City. Painting became a passion at a young age and she later went on to study Visual Arts at the National School of Arts, part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Considered one of the leading schools of art in Latin America, here she was educated by some of the most acclaimed figures of contemporary Mexican art.

Her work has been exhibited widely throughout Mexico, the UK and abroad including the Arbol Gallery Valencia Spain, Fine Arts Cali Colombia; Museum of Mexico City, Gallery Sector Reforma Guadalajara Mexico, Faculty of Creative Arts UWE, Bath’s Fringe Visual Arts Festival 2010 and 2011, Paul Hamlyn Library, British Museum, London, etc. Since graduating in 2007, Pilar has participated in two solo exhibitions in Tuxtla Gutierrez Chiapas, Mexico. Here she exhibited her series “Because we are where we are not”, exploring the philosophical concept of the sublime.

“For me, to observe a painting is to observe it through the construction of our consciousness. Through our memories and imaginations, we enter inside of it, alter it and become part of what is represented”.

Since 2008, Pilar lives and works in Bristol. In September 2011, I was invited to participate in the Performance “From Morning till night” by Katerina Seda at the Tate Modern.