# Kandy G Lopez
## Kandy G Lopez

Kandy G. Lopez (1987) is a multi-media Afro-Caribbean American artist and associate professor at NOVA Southeastern University. She is known for her fiber works, which which focus on the representation of marginalized individuals to explore race, gender, and class.

## Early Life and Education

Kandy G. Lopez was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, a small two-mile town populated by WW1 and WW2 veterans. Growing up in this community exposed her to anti-Black remarks from neighbors and adults. Once her parents divorced, she moved to Hialeah, Florida with her mother and brother. It wasn’t until she attended Rainbow Park Elementary in Opa Locka, Florida that she found a sense of cultural identity and belonging in the area's predominantly African American population. She began pursuing an artistic education by attending Norland Middle School of the Arts in Opa Locka, Florida. Lopez was then accepted into the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. She attended Maryland Institute College of Art for a year before she relocated to Tampa, where she received her B.S. in Business with a concentration in Marketing and Management and B.F.A. with a concentration in painting from the University of South Florida. She went on to receive her M.F.A. with a concentration in painting from Florida Atlantic University. Lopez currently works as an associate professor at NOVA Southeastern University. She credits a piece of thread falling on a piece of her artwork back 2015 for her incorporation of fiber into her artwork.

## Selected Works
### Jeremi

Jeremi is a 60x50 inch yarn and acrylic on mesh canvas depicting an African-American man in front of a white background. Created in 2023, the image depicts Jeremi sitting down and resting his arm on his seat while he looks straight.

### Tayina & Jordan

Tayina & Jordan is a 90x150 inch yarn and acrylic on mesh canvas depicting an African-American man and woman in front of the city. Created in 2023, the image depicts them leaning on each other while looking straight.

### Quavia

Quavia is a 60x50 inch yarn and acrylic on mesh canvas depicting a Black woman in front of a pink background. Created in 2023, the image depicts the woman in a bright pink pantsuit and purple heels squatting while looking straight.

### Marly & Luis

Marly and Luis is a 96x60 inch yarn and acrylic on mesh canvas depicting two African-American men in front of a green background. [7] In the image, Luis is leaning his arm on Marly’s shoulder while they both look straight. Created in 2022, it’s featured in Lopez’ (In)Visible Threads exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum.

## Exhibitions
### (In)Visible Threads Exhibition at the Riverside Art Museum

Lopez’ fiber portraits were featured in the Powell Gallery at the Riverside Art Museum available to the public from September 21, 2024 to March 2, 2025.

### We The People Exhibition at ACA Galleries

In partnership with Aminah Robinson, Kandy G. Lopez showcased a series of artworks made with yarn and stained glass at ACA Galleries from September 3, 2024 to November 9, 2024. Lopez’ artwork conveys the complexities of the Afro-Caribbean American experience.

### Situational Identity, New Works in Fiber Exhibition at ACA Galleries

Influenced by Ginetta Candelario, Kandy G. Lopez’ exhibition aims to represent the Afro-Caribbean American identity. Lopez’ fiber-based artworks were on display at ACA Galleries from September 5, 2023 to October 21, 2023.