Irene Pantelis is a Bolivian-Uruguayan-American artist living and working in Maryland. Infused in Latin America’s magic realism, her videos, installations, paintings and drawings explore diverse artifacts, discoveries and natural phenomena, engaging narratives of identity, memory, displacement and ecology. Initially a labor lawyer, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park, where she is currently a Lecturer, in addition to teaching at Montgomery College. Held in private and public permanent collections, her work has been featured in exhibitions nationally. She has held solo shows at Studio Gallery in Washington D.C.; UMD, VisArts, and Glen Echo Park in Maryland; and the Mattie Kelley Arts Center in Florida. Derived from her drawing process, her experimental short videos have been screened worldwide, receiving numerous awards, among them, an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Awards in France.

Artist Statement

“My current art explorations focus on bodily and existential vulnerability through the lens of plant specimens imperiled by a material world that increasingly offers diminishing support, necessitating a dependency on humans and their ingenuity. Balancing the naturally fluid and chaotic behavior of water, ink and other household items against my deliberate mark-making, my works record a process, a symbiosis, a transformation, a story still unfolding, an assemblage where botanical forms offer many possibilities.”

En Español

La artista boliviana-uruguaya-estadounidense Irene Pantelis vive y trabaja en Maryland, Estados Unidos. Con un toque de realismo mágico, sus obras consisten mayormente de vídeos, instalaciones, pinturas y dibujos que exploran diversos artefactos, descubrimientos y fenómenos naturales, entrelazando temas de identidad, memoria, desplazamiento y ecología. Tras ejercer derecho laboral por una década, mientras aprendía por su cuenta a pintar, obtuvo un bachillerato y un masters en bellas artes de la Universidad de Maryland en College Park, donde ahora enseña como catedrática, además de dar clases en Montgomery College. Sus obras han ingresado a colecciones privadas y públicas y han formado parte de exposiciones a nivel nacional. Ha tenido exposiciones exclusivas en Studio Gallery en Washington D.C., UMD, VisArts y Glen Echo Park en Maryland, y en el Mattie Kelley Arts Center en la Florida. Sus videos experimentales nacen de sus dibujos y han sido incluidos en festivales y eventos a nivel mundial, recibiendo numerosos premios, entre ellos, una selección oficial al Cannes Film Awards en Francia.

“Mis obras más recientes exploran la vulnerabilidad física y existencial del cuerpo a través de la historia de especímenes de plantas amenazados por un mundo material que ofrece cada vez menos manutención y exige dependencia de los humanos y su ingenio. Al trabajar busco equilibrar el comportamiento fluido y caótico del agua, la tinta y otros materiales domésticos con el control de mis trazos y así mis obras acaban siendo el registro de un proceso, una simbiosis, una transformación, una historia aún sin terminar, un montage donde las formas botánicas ofrecen muchas posibilidades.”

Solo & Duo Exhibitions

2025

• Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C. (garden gallery June 18-July 12)

• Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland (duo show with Rhonda Luckey, November 4-January 2)

2024

• When Time Is a Keyhole, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C. (solo)

2023

• Of Water Too Are the Grasses, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C. (solo)

2022

• Cactus of the Sands, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C. (solo)

2021

• It’s Not Easy Becoming a Fossil, Mattie Kelley Arts Center, Holzhauer Gallery, Niceville, Florida (solo)

• When Our Edges Grow Soft, Stone Tower Gallery, Glen Echo Park, Maryland (solo)

• Inmost: Furthest from the Boundary, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C. (solo)

2019

• Marks of Existence, University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, Maryland (solo)

2018-19

• Beneath My Lawn, VisArts, Common Grounds Gallery, Rockville, Maryland (solo)

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024

• The World Around Us, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• DC Art Now 2025, Art Grants Finalists Show, I Street Gallery SE, Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.

• Faculty Show, University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, Maryland

• Arte del Alma, City Hall Gallery, Bowie, Maryland

• Butterflies in the Outhouse, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• This Land, Art Fluent Online Gallery, Boston, Massachussets

• What Is Love?, Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland, Maryland

• 2024 Adkins Arboretum Juried Show, Ridgely, Maryland (curated by Mehves Lelic, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History and Director of Mosely Gallery at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore)

2023

• Positive/Negative 38th National Juried Exhiibition, East Tennessee State University, Slocumb Galleries, Johnson City, Tennessee (curated by Mark Scala, Chief Curator of the Frist Art Museum in Nashville)

• Our Common Humanity, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• See You Soon, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

2022

• Myth and Memory, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• DC Art Now 2022, Art Grants Finalists Show, 200 I Street Gallery SE, Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington D.C.

• My Muse, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• Out of the Artist’s Closet: A Studio Gallery Retrospective, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

2021

• Organic Geometry: A Nancy Frankel Tribute, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• Faculty Exhibition, University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, Maryland

• Joy in Convergence, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

2020

• Co-Operative Visions, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• Peace in Ambiguity, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

• 28th Annual Emerald Coast National Juried Fine Arts Exhibit, Mattie Kelley Arts Center, Niceville, Florida (curated by Ndubuisi “Endy” Ezeluomba, Ph.D., Francoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art)

• Maryland Federation of Art @ Gallery B, Bethesda, Maryland (juried by Nora Sturges, Area Head of Painting and Drawing in the Department of Art + Design, Art History, Art Education at Towson University in Maryland)

2019

• National Juried Exhibition, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, Maryland (curated by Sandy Guttman, Curatorial Assistant at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden)

• Creating a Space, Rhizomes, University of Maryland, Herman Maryl Gallery, College Park, Maryland

2018

• American Landscapes, Circle Gallery, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, Maryland (juried by Joann Moser, Senior Curator Emerita, Smithsonian American Art Museum)

• National Juried Exhibition, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, New York (curated by John Yau, poet and critic, publisher of Black Square Editions, co-starter of Hyperallergic Weekend)

• Juncture, Towson University, Holtzman Gallery, Towson, Maryland

• Media Lux, University of Maryland, Stamp Gallery, College Park, Maryland

• Facing the Wall, Art League of Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island (juried by Julia Samuels, Director, Overpass Projects)

• Sadat Art for Peace: Confronting Prejudice and Hate, University of Maryland, Herman Maryl Gallery, College Park< Maryland

• Back and Forth, University of Maryland, Herman Maryl Gallery, College Park, Maryland

2017

• WorkFlows, University of Maryland, Herman Maryl Gallery, College Park, Maryland 

• Being Sentient, Sentient Being, Wills Creek Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland, Maryland (juried by Aneta Georgievska-Shine)

• Visualizing Migration, University of Maryland, Center for Literary and Comparative Studies, College Park, Maryland (curated by Christina Walter)

2016

• Primordial States, University of Maryland, Herman Maryl Gallery, College Park, Maryland

Film Festivals & Video Screenings

2024

• Hispanic International Film Festival, Cinema Art Theater, Lewis, Delaware

2023

• Female Filmmakers Festival, Berlin, Germany

• Rising Sun Cinema Festival, Tokyo, Japan

• Filmtage Der Nationen, Frankfurt, Germany

• Latino Film Market, La Kota Alliance, New York, New York

2022

• Brentwood Arts Exchange, Prince George’s County Gateway Arts District, Lights Out, Brentwood, MD

• National Short Film Festival, Washington, D.C.

• Miami National Film Festival, Miami, Florida

• WXSA Barcelona International Awards, Barcelona, Spain

• Animate - Australia Animation Film Festival, Sydney, Australia

2021

• Cannes Film Awards, Cannes, France

• Paris Play International Film Festival, Paris, France

• Lisbon Film RendezVous, Lisbon, Portugal

• AXD Short Film Festival, Alexandroupolis, Evros, Greece

• Prague International Monthly Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic

• Bridge Fest, Vancouver, Canada

• Montreal International Animation Film Festival, ANIMAZE, Montreal, Canada

• Motion Pictures International Film Festival, Alberta, Canada

• Gold Star Movie Awards, Newark, New Jersey

• Mindfield Film Festival, Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Rocky Mountain International Film Festival, Silverthorne, Colorado

• Mile High International Film Festival, Denver, Colorado

• New York City IO Film Festival, Brooklyn, New York

• International Animation Festival, Los Angeles, California

• Jornadas Virtuales de Música Contemporánea, La Paz, Bolivia

• Le Prince International Film Festival, Caracas, Venezuela

• Acorazado Film Festival, Caracas, Venezuela

• World Film Carnival, Singapore

• Virgin Spring Cinefest, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

• A Collective Conversation: Observing a Year, More than a Human World Library, conversations-projects.com (curated by Sobia Ahmad and Monroe Isenberg)

Grants & Awards

2024

• Homiens Art Prize, New York, USA (long list)

• Leon Andrus First Place Award, 2024 Adkins Arboretum Juried Show, Ridgely, Maryland (awarded by Mehves Lelic, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History and Director of Mosely Gallery at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore)

• Guardian of Honor Award, Virgin Spring Cinefest, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

• Winner, Experimental Category, Hispanic International Film Festival, Cinema Art Theater, Lewis, Delaware

• Finalist, Animated Short Film, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia

• Finalist, Grant-Art Bank Acquisition, Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.

2023

• Grant-Art Bank Acquisition, Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.

• Honorable Mention, Positive/Negative 38th National Juried Exhibition, Tennessee State University, Slocumb Galleries, Johnson City, Tennessee (awarded by Mark Scala, Chief Curator of the Frist Art Museum in Nashville)

• Official Selection, Best Latino Short Film-USA, Latino Film Market, New York, New York

• Winner, Experimental Shorts, Filmtage Der Nationen, Frankfurt, Germany

• Finalist, Animation Film, Rising Sun Cinema Festival, Tokyo, Japan

2022

• Finalist, Micro Film, WSXA Barcelona/International Awards, Barcelona, Spain

• Quarter Finalist, Short Animation-Experimental, Animate - Australia Animation Film Festival, Sydney, Australia

• Quarter Finalist, National Short Film Festival, Washington, D.C.

2021

• Official Selection, Cannes Film Awards, Cannes, France

• Best Experimental Short Film, Rocky Mountain International Film Festival, Silverthorne, CO

• Best Experimental Film, Paris Play International Film Festival, Paris, France

• Annual Winner, Best Fantasy Short Films, Bridge Fest, Vancouver, Canada

• Diamond Award, Best Experimental Short, Mindfield Film Festival, Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Best Fantasy Short, Gold Star Movie Awards, Newark, New Jersey

• Finalist, Best Experimental Short Film, Mile High International Film Festival, Denver, Colorado

• Finalist, Super Short Film, Prague International Film Awards, Prague, Czech Republic

• Finalist, Short Film, Lisbon Film RendezVous, Lisbon, Portugal

• Quarter Finalist, Short Script, International Animation Festival, Los Angeles, California

• Nominee, Experimental, Motion Pictures International Film Festival, Alberta, Canada

• Outstanding Achievement Award, Animated Films, Virgin Spring Cinefest, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

• Outstanding Achievement Award, Animated Films, World Film Carnival, Singapore

2020

• Best in Show, 28th Annual Emerald Coast National Juried Fine Arts Exhibit, Mattie Kelley Arts Center Galleries, Niceville, Florida (awarded by Ndubuisi “Endy” Ezeluomba, Ph.D., Francoise Billion Richardson curator of African art at the New Orleans Museum of Art)

2018

• Juror's Choice Award, American Landscapes, Maryland Federation of Art (awarded by Joann Moser, Senior Curator Emerita, Smithsonian American Art Museum)

• First Place, Sadat Art for Peace Competition: Confronting Prejudice and Hate, The Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, University of Maryland at College Park

2017

• Graduate Award, Visualizing Migration, Center for Literary and Comparative Studies, University of Maryland at College Park

Public Collections

• Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank (Washington, D.C.)

• Mattie Kelley Arts Center (Florida)

• Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development (Maryland)

Media Coverage

• Hola Cultura, Elizabeth Euceda and Iris Lopez, “Ink, Water and Wonder: The Artistic Explorations of Irene Pantelis,” June 18, 2024

• The Washington Post, Mark Jenkins, “In the galleries/Irene Pantelis,” November 10, 2023.

• The Washington Post. Mark Jenkins. “In the galleries: The art of looking inward to create societal change/Irene Pantelis.” February 11, 2022.

• UMD Art History, Matthew Roberts. “Conversations with Artists/Irene Pantelis.”. October 2019.

• Culture Spot Montgomery County. Ellyn Wexler. “VisArts exhibits installation of small three-dimensional drawings: Passions for nature and art inform multicultural artist’s work.” December 18, 2018.

• The Stamp Gallery Blog. Kat Mullineaux. "Interview with Media Lux artist Irene Pantelis." May 2, 2018.

• UMD Writers Bloc. Hailemariam, Setota. "Media Lux artists at the Stamp Gallery share what inspires their art." April 7, 2018.

Gallery & Studio Affiliations

• Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

  • Co-Chair, Board of Trustees (July 2024-Present)

  • Coordinator, Fellowships Program (June 2023-Present)

• Micheline Klagsbrun Studios, Tuesday Night Group, Washington, D.C.

Committee & Curatorial Involvements

2024

• Curator, Emergence, outreach exhibition for MFA students, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C.

2017-2018

• Graduate Student Representative, Committee on the Arts Initiative, Office of the Provost, University of Maryland at College Park

• Mentor, Annual Exhibition Curated by the Department of Art Honors Students, University of Maryland at College Park

Teaching Experience

• University of Maryland , Department of Art, College Park, MD

o   2021-Present, Lecturer, Drawing I, II

o   2019 Adjunct Professor, Drawing I

o   2019 Instructor of Record, Drawing I

o   2017-2018 Teaching Assistant, Drawing I

o   2017 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Digital Art

• Montgomery College, Department of Art, Rockville & Germantown, MD

o   2020, 2023-Present, Adjunct Professor, Introduction to Drawing

• International Development Bank, Family Association, Bethesda, MD

o   2022, 2024 Guest Lecturer (ink, watercolor, collage workshops)

Other Experience

• 2001-2007 National Treasury Employees Union, Office of the General Counsel, Assistant Counsel, Washington, D.C.

• 2005-2007 Government of the District of Columbia, Office of Police Complaints, Complaints Examiner, Washington, D.C.

• 1999-2001 Slevin and Hart PC, Associate, Washington D.C.

• 1997-1999 O’Donoghue and O’Donoghue LLP, Associate, Washington D.C.

• 1995-1996 United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Chambers of the Honorable Judge Gladys Kessler, Intern, Washington, D.C.

Education

• 2019 MFA University of Maryland at College Park (Studio Art)

• 2016 BA University of Maryland at College Park (Studio Art)

• 1997 JD Georgetown University Law Center (labor law scholarship award recipient)

• 1993 BA University of Maryland at College Park (Spanish Language and Literature, Honors Citation, Cum Laude)