About

Stephen Signa-Aviles is a Mexican-American artist living in Urbana, Illinois. His works are sculptural manifestations that embody themes of memory, national identity, assimilation, and cultural hybridity. By introducing the historical and economic context of family history, he seeks to reflect on personal narratives of living in between cultures. His sculptures are an assemblage of found and curated objects that foreground ambiguity. Using methods of deconstruction and appropriation, he blends utility and ornamentation to create gestures of tension and harmony. By embracing a multiplicity of meanings and associations, the work exists in flux; somewhere between DIY artifact, customized commodity, and ancestral keepsake.

BA 2012 North Park University, Chicago, IL

MFA 2021 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign