Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales is a multiracial Black and Mexican artist born in Santa Barbara, California who uses elements of mythology to explore her identity and the human experience. She began this exploration during her attendance at the Maryland Institute College of Art, furthering her studies abroad at Studio Art Centers International Honors Program in Florence, Italy and concluding in a BFA. Her work has been shown at Atkinson Gallery, Santa Barbara City College; The Arts Fund, Santa Barbara; Beta Epochs, Los Angeles; Broome Library Gallery, CSU Channel Island; Gallery 1202, Gilroy; The Basic Premise Gallery, Ojai; Carnegie Art Museum Studio Gallery, Oxnard; Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation, Ojai; MACLA, San Jose; VITA Art Center Gallery, Ventura; and the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art, CalLutheran University among other institutions. 

In 2018, Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales worked as an art therapist aide for three and a half years. During this time she saw the healing qualities of art and learned the importance of honoring the “process”. To incorporate this into her own practice, she began constructing installations that create a multi sensory environment for her work. 

Currently, Vanessa identifies as a multidisciplinary artist who explores a variety of materials in her work including ceramics, collage, resin, cyanotypes, wearables, and installations that incorporate sound, scent, and taste as a form of bringing the audience deeper into her process. Her work often incorporates flora and fauna drawing parallels between the body and nature while simultaneously playing with body language, distortion, archetype, myth, and metaphor. 

Recently, Vanessa received a position on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara to contribute insight on community engagement and assist in the reopening of the museum’s new direction to ensure an equitable art community.