Short Bio
Holographic Northern Lights Artwork painted in loving memory of Aurora Annette (7/21/2020-9/24/2020)
Statement
I paint the Aurora Borealis in memory of my infant daughter, Aurora Annette, who passed away at just 2 months old on September 24, 2020. Painting has been and continues to be an outlet for my grief and heartbreak over losing my baby, and also to celebrate and honor her. The bright colors and vivid hues in my paintings radiate the same intense energy and emotion that I experience in daily struggles with my mental health, in trying to navigate this journey of grief.
I’ve always found peace and solace in my artistic practice. It is my art that got me through some of the most challenging times in my life: being diagnosed with Stage 3 endometriosis, undergoing two surgeries in 10 months, (then, 3 months later,) enduring an emotionally and physically trying cycle of In-Vitro Fertilization, experiencing a high-risk, complicated pregnancy, having emergency c-section 33 weeks early after delivering twin girls, bringing home my babies after being in the NICU for a month, then waking up on the morning that Aurora Annette didn’t. Painting is one of the few constants that I can lean on when everything else feels chaotic and out of control, which is what my life is without Aurora.
Although my time with her was brief, she brought so much light and color to my life, just as the Aurora Borealis illuminates the night sky with its luminous colors. Each Aurora painting is a message to my daughter, painted with iridescent and holographic colors. I use handmade, small batch, color shifting watercolors in my artwork. When the painting is viewed from different angles, the colors change and shift subtly in the light. Aurora Annette continues to be my inspiration for my art, and I keep her memory alive with every Aurora that I paint.
Biography
Angelina Salgado is a visual artist and has always been drawn to bright colors, which are a hallmark of her artwork and personal style. She creates colorful paintings in watercolor and gouache, featuring holographic and iridescent details, created with colorshifting paint. The paint is handmade in small batches, containing colorshifting, metallic, and glitter pigments. Angelina is the brand ambassador for two of those artisan paintmakers: Coloring Brittany and Watercolor Candies.
It is this fascination with colors that piqued her interest in the visual arts. This interest was cultivated in her high school years, as she took Advanced Placement courses in Studio Art and Art History, and further developed as these were her undergraduate double major at Hunter College. Angelina earned her Master’s degree in Art and Museum Education from the City College of New York. She has taught in many renowned NYC museums and cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Brooklyn Museum. She transitioned to teaching elementary art, after moving to New Jersey.
The daughter of Filipino immigrants, Angelina was born in New York City and grew up in West Nyack, NY. She is also the mother to twin girls. Her daughter, Aurora Annette, passed away from Sudden Unexplained Infant Death, just 3 days after she and her twin turned 2 months old. Angelina paints the Northern Lights in Aurora’s memory, as she is inspired by the Northern Lights, with its streams of vibrant colors, dancing across the night sky among all the stars. Angelina started Auroras for Aurora in loving memory of her baby girl, forever 65 days old. Its goal is to spread kindness and joy through color, raise awareness for infant loss, and provide comfort to people during their darkest moments, just as the Aurora Borealis lights up the night sky with its bright and beautiful colors.
