Roxana Matamoros was born in 1953 Madrid, to a Salvadoran diplomat father and a Dutch-Spanish mother.
She moved periodically between Europe and America: early childhood in Brazil, 7 to 15 years-old in Belgium’s Sacred Heart schools. Her parents divorced and her two younger brothers moved to Ontario, Canada with our mother and Canadian stepfather, while she landed in North America at O’Hare and spent 4 months in Lake Forest, ILL where her mother’s sister lived. She boarded at the Sacred Heart, but after a bout of loneliness moved to Ontario with the family and completed Grades 11 to 13 in Don Mills. At this point, she joined her father who was Ambassador in Paris. There she obtained the Certificate of Graphic Design from Ecole Superieure des Arts Modernes (ESAM), a 3-year program, whereupon she returned to Canada and was employed for two years at P. R. Graphics in Malton, ON as a paste-up artist. The following year she studied at, and obtained an Honours Diploma in Fine Arts from, Central Tech in Toronto (1978). 1979 was split between Israel and New York, NY. In 1980, she was in El Salvador where she dodged bullets, while employed for 8 months as a layout artist. She moved to Guatemala next door, and after a year of freelancing as a Graphic Designer, she worked as Director of the Art Department for Prensa Libre, one of Guatemala City’s main newspapers. From 1982 to 1989 Roxana was back in TO and embarked on the adventure of Temping in offices: she lived at various addresses in the city. 1990 to 1993 Roxana spent in Stockbridge, MA: she did a lot of painting and decorating furniture, which got sold at a local shop. 1994 and 1995 she lived and painted in Toronto at her mothers in an attic with a skylight. In 1996 she moved to the Yonge and Eglinton area: a “hole in the wall” studio apartment, where she painted commissioned works. She finally moved to her present area of residency- Southwestern Ontario, in 1997: a one-bedroom apartment in Guelph. In a rented studio on Douglas Street, she painted a large (5’ x 8’) abstract work which won 3rd Prize in an International Visual Arts Competition. Also in Guelph, in 2001 she had her first solo show: “The Rose in Study”, at the Art-in-Guelph Gallery on Paisley Street. In 2002 Roxana moved to the Elora area, North towards Alma, where she lived 4 years, then to a Fergus apartment which is part of a house, for another 3 years. In 2009, Roxana moved into her current house in Elora, where she has lived and painted since. Roxana’s works are in collections throughout the Americas and in France and Spain.
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Vendor Biography
Roxana Matamoros was born in 1953 Madrid, to a Salvadoran diplomat father and a Dutch-Spanish mother.
She moved periodically between Europe and America: early childhood in Brazil, 7 to 15 years-old in Belgium’s Sacred Heart schools. Her parents divorced and her two younger brothers moved to Ontario, Canada with our mother and Canadian stepfather, while she landed in North America at O’Hare and spent 4 months in Lake Forest, ILL where her mother’s sister lived. She boarded at the Sacred Heart, but after a bout of loneliness moved to Ontario with the family and completed Grades 11 to 13 in Don Mills. At this point, she joined her father who was Ambassador in Paris. There she obtained the Certificate of Graphic Design from Ecole Superieure des Arts Modernes (ESAM), a 3-year program, whereupon she returned to Canada and was employed for two years at P. R. Graphics in Malton, ON as a paste-up artist. The following year she studied at, and obtained an Honours Diploma in Fine Arts from, Central Tech in Toronto (1978). 1979 was split between Israel and New York, NY. In 1980, she was in El Salvador where she dodged bullets, while employed for 8 months as a layout artist. She moved to Guatemala next door, and after a year of freelancing as a Graphic Designer, she worked as Director of the Art Department for Prensa Libre, one of Guatemala City’s main newspapers. From 1982 to 1989 Roxana was back in TO and embarked on the adventure of Temping in offices: she lived at various addresses in the city. 1990 to 1993 Roxana spent in Stockbridge, MA: she did a lot of painting and decorating furniture, which got sold at a local shop. 1994 and 1995 she lived and painted in Toronto at her mothers in an attic with a skylight. In 1996 she moved to the Yonge and Eglinton area: a “hole in the wall” studio apartment, where she painted commissioned works. She finally moved to her present area of residency- Southwestern Ontario, in 1997: a one-bedroom apartment in Guelph. In a rented studio on Douglas Street, she painted a large (5’ x 8’) abstract work which won 3rd Prize in an International Visual Arts Competition. Also in Guelph, in 2001 she had her first solo show: “The Rose in Study”, at the Art-in-Guelph Gallery on Paisley Street. In 2002 Roxana moved to the Elora area, North towards Alma, where she lived 4 years, then to a Fergus apartment which is part of a house, for another 3 years. In 2009, Roxana moved into her current house in Elora, where she has lived and painted since. Roxana’s works are in collections throughout the Americas and in France and Spain.