Alonsa Guevara is a Chilean-born, New York-based artist. She holds an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art (USA). She has has exhibited internationally (including China, Mexico, Denmark, Argentina, and Chile). ‘Counting Leaves’ is her first solo show outside the American continent. Alonsa questions notions of womanhood, identity and belonging while embracing the connection between humankind and nature. Her main inspiration derives from the experiences of living in three different countries (Chile, Ecuador, USA), and is especially impacted by the formative memories of her childhood spent living in the rainforest with her family.

Alonsa has spent the last 10 months as artist-in-residence at Tashkeel (Nad Al Sheba), researching, experimenting, creating, teaching and engaging with the UAE’s creative community. She has created a substantial new body of work exploring correlations between the natural world and human behaviour. Each piece bears testament to the universal power of nature and its instinctual, irrevocable bond with humanity. Inspired by the seemingly contrasting arid and tropical environments of the Middle East and South America, Alonsa explores a common natural heritage and examines the integral role trees play in the ecosystem of shared dependence evolved over millennia.

About the Tashkeel Residency Programme

The Tashkeel Residency Programme was launched 15 years ago. Since then, the organisation has facilitated residencies for 80 artists, curators and designers from over 30 countries. The Residency Programme consists of 3 strands: Firstly, residencies for overseas practitioners at Tashkeel (Nad Al Sheba) for between 4 and 12 months, consisting of teaching, research, experimentation and the production of a new body of work; Secondly, 2-month residencies at Tashkeel (Al Fahidi) leading to a public outcome for UAE-based practitioners; and thirdly, international opportunities for UAE-based practitioners, which has resulted so far in residencies in Japan, UK and USA.