Nela Garzón is a multidisciplinary visual artist with a profound interest in exploring foreign media inspired by traditional crafts and cultures. Her art is driven by her admiration for cultural diversity and the transgression of acculturation. It encompasses topics such as Colonialism, racism, social injustice, and migration. We encounter in her work juxtaposition and hybridity of cultures as a critical outcome of the ethnocentrism of dominant societies. Folk art, handcrafts, beliefs, and customs from around the globe are her subjects of research and admiration. She often learns traditional techniques and adopts and modifies them as a statement about the side effects of globalization and capitalism. Her goal is to create awareness about the importance of ancestral and traditional cultures and to promote pride in minorities as well as embracing immigrants, refugees, and a pluricultural world.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, she obtained a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2004 from the Javeriana University. In Colombia, her art was part of the 41 Salón Nacional de Artistas and 4to Salón de Arte Bidimensional. Her work has been shown around the U.S. and has been widely recognized, including 1st award at the Assistance League of Houston Texas Show (2019); a LIFTS grant (2020); an MFAH-commissioned temporary sculpture that was showcased at the Cullen Sculpture Garden (2022); a Jones Artist Award bestowed by the Houston Endowment (2023); and an Art Residency at PAC (2023) and at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (2024). Her work is in the West Collection and the Creixell Art Collection.