Born in the Dominican Republic, Wildriana María de Jesús Paulino is an multidisciplinary artist and educator. She holds a BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art and currently teaches at The Bronx Museum. Wildriana has exhibited her work at venues such as the Bronx River Art Center and the Abrazo Interno Gallery. A recipient of the 2022 Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation Prize, her collaborations include Women's Strike NYC and The Audubon Society. In 2023, she was awarded the 178Studio Residency at Cornerstone Studios, where she held a studio until March 2024. The same summer, she received the NYLAAT artist residency on Governors Island.
Statement
My practice centers on femininity, transformation, and autonomy. I merge female and natural forms to create beings where femininity thrives independently, embodying both mother and daughter. Growing up in a matriarchal household in the Dominican Republic—where violence against women is prevalent—has deeply shaped my work. This tension between femicide and my upbringing drives my exploration of how women can reclaim autonomy in a world that often strips it away. Rooted in my family’s agricultural background, I view nature as the ultimate symbol of independence. Working in drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and installation, I use handmade paper, inks, and organic materials to reflect on the resilience of the female body and its connection to the Earth.
CV
Education
2022 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, BFA
Solo Exhibitions
2022 Para nunca escocer - To Never Ache, The Cooper Union, New York
2017 Introduction, The City College of New York, New York
Group Exhibitions
2024 Cuerpo e Identidad, NYLAAT, Governors Island, New York
2023 Scaling Nature, Bronx River Art Center, (The BRAC), New York
2022 Abya Yala, NY Latin American Art Triennial, Governors Island, New York
2022 EOYS, The Cooper Union, New York
2022 12 x 12 x 12, The Cooper Union, New York
2021 Diversidad Juntos, ArteLatAm, Virtual Exhibition
2021 1(800) Support, The Cooper Union, New York
2021 Viva La Memento Mori, AHA Fine Art, New York
2021 AfreeCAN, Chashama Gallery, New York
2021 EOYS, The Cooper Union, New York
2021 Social Reckoning, eMele-K, Abrazo Interno Gallery, New York
2020 For the Love of Art: An Appropriated Intentions Exhibition, Fort George Hill, New York
2020 Annual Members Exhibition, Robert Blackburn Printshop, New York
2020 EOYS, The Cooper Union, Virtual Exhibition
2019 EOYS, The Cooper Union, New York
2018 Untitled Show 3, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, New York
2018 YES, Saturday Program at Cooper Union, New York
2017 Uptown Triennial, The Studio Museum in Harlem in conjunction with Miriam and Ira D.
Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University, New York
2017 La Casa, La Casa, New York
2017 Impressions, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
Residencies / Awards
2025 Vermont Studio Center, Full Fellowship, Vermont, US (Forthcoming)
2024 MarinaMansion Residency, Brooklyn, NY
2024 NYLAAT, Artist in Residence, Governors Island, NY
2023-24 Cornerstone 178Studio Artist in Residence, New York, NY
2022 Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation Prize
2021 Sylvia Appelman Painting Award
School of Art at the Cooper Union Grant recipient
The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation Grant recipient
2020 The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation Grant recipient
Young Blackburn Print Fellow, Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
2019 Pinta Tu Patria, Dominican Embassy, First place
Innovator Scholarship, The Cooper Union, New York, NY
2018 Merit Scholarship, The Cooper Union, New York, NY
We Support Creativity, Undergraduate World Award recipient
2017 Harlem Postcard Photography Competition, First Place
Selected Guest Speaker / Lecturer
2014 Artist Talk, The Bronx Museum Teen Summer Program, Governors Island, NY
2024 Teachers College, Columbia University, NYCMER Conference-Why Museums?, Panelist, New York, NY
2024 Pratt University, Department of Museum Studies, Guest Lecturer, Brooklyn, NY.
2024 Cornerstone Studios, Residency Culmination Artist Talk, New York, NY.
2023 Pratt University, Department of Museum Studies, virtual, Guest Lecturer, Brooklyn, NY.
Bibliography
2023 Pine Warbler by Wildriana Paulino, Audubon Mural Project
2022 Cientos de artistas de toda latinoamérica exponen en trienal de Nueva York, El Pulso, SLP, México
2022 Senior Snapshots: School of Art 2022, The Cooper Union
2022 Wildriana Paulino: To Never Ache, Interview by Beez and Honey Podcast- Nicollette Ramirez
2022 30 Seconds In The Studio, The Cooper Union
2021 Wildriana Paulino, artista dominicana, eleva la voz de las mujeres con su arte, Interview by ArteLatAm
Public Projects
2022 Mural painting for Audubon Society, NYC
2021 Mural painting for Collectivo Amarante
2021 Design for Women Strike NYC
2020 Public art in conjunction with Women Strike NYC
Professional Experience
2023 Museum Educator, The Bronx Museum, Bronx, New York
2021 Intern at Pace Paper Prints, New York
2020 Intern at Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, New York
2020-21 Sculpture Instructor, Saturday Program at The Cooper Union, New York
2020 Assistant to Director, ArteLatAm, New York
2017-19 Gallery Assistant at Kenkeleba House, Wilmer Jennings Gallery, New York