Messina Hernandez

Messina Hernandez-Simpson is an American artist and student who’s academic journey began in New York at Sarah Lawrence college where she pursued an undergraduate degree in fine arts. This period allowed for her exploration and development of new artistic techniques as well as her initial opportunity to move to France through a study abroad program. Since she has resided in the fifth floor artist residencies of the Fondation des Etats Unis for the last two years. In this studio, she has been able to create an array of artistic works, from acrylic, gouache and oil paintings to lithographs and drawings. Her artistic focuses vary from portraiture and still lives to a more recent passion; lithographic printmaking coupled with a return to her first artistic tool; the marker. Last year, she had a solo exhibition also at the Fondation des Etats Unis which exhibited her collection of prints with 60 pieces on display. In the last year she has returned to the medium which she first used in her artistic endeavors: pen and ink as well as markers. She has decided to continue her artistic and academic career in Paris where she is now in the midst of preparing an undergraduate degree in French literature at Université Paris Cité while still continuing her artistic pursuits independently. This latter pursuit manifests itself in a visual diary which she has been putting together to commemorate the space which has so influenced her creative process, the artist residency on the fifth floor of this very building.