Overview

Depeña Studio is the interdisciplinary art studio of Ivan Toth Depeña. Depeña’s artistic production is informed by his experience in art, architecture, technology, and design, and encompasses a range of media. He works frequently in the public art realm while maintaining a rigorous self directed studio practice.

Bio

Ivan Toth Depeña is a hispanic-american artist currently based in Charlotte, NC, after having lived and worked in Miami, FL and New York, NY. With a Masters Degree in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Depeña’s artistic production is informed by his experience in art, architecture, technology and design, and encompasses a range of media.

Depeña has been working increasingly in the public realm and maintains a rigorous, self-directed studio practice. He has exhibited extensively, nationally and internationally, in both solo and group exhibitions, including at the McColl Center, NC; Praxis NY, NYC; New Britain Museum of American Art, CT; Miami Art Museum, Frost Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. Depeña has recently completed large-scale public commissions in New York, NY; Denver, CO; Albuquerque, NM; Gainesville, and Miami, FL. His work is held in numerous public and private collections.

Ivan has won Public Art of the Year for various projects from Americans for the Arts and the Public Art Network. In early 2014, he was awarded a prestigious Knight Arts Challenge Miami Grant for his proposal for a first of its kind series of augmented reality public art projects throughout South Florida called “Lapse”. Depeña was also a finalist for the renowned Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) Grants & Commissions program for Hispanic artists for 2017-2018. In addition, he received a nomination for the prestigious United States Artist grant in 2017.

Statement

My studio strives to defy categorization by intertwining creative disciplines. With over 20 years of experience and education in fine art, architecture and design, my projects generally focus on the fusion of the aforementioned disciplines with technology and science. My work consists of various media ranging from hand drawing to high-tech, interactive light installations. My studio output consists of 2 parallel objectives: maintaining a rigorous, personal studio practice and producing meaningful public art/placemaking.

My tools are developed through the investigation of different methodologies, often incorporating a synthesis of traditional techniques with technological advances. My process evolves from an initial idea that develops via research, exploration, the interplay of materials, construction, composition, light and color, and how these elements can be layered to resonate with senses, emotion, and perception. This approach allows me to create multi-faceted work that is simultaneously sensorial, immersive and rooted in concept – blurring the lines between the tactile, psychological, physical and the digital realms.

Generally, my work starts with a concept that in turn reveals the final media in which it is to be produced with. Variety keeps me interested and also keeps me learning. Non-repetition is built into my studio’s ethos. The concepts I explore in my art are reflections of my past experiences, multi-cultural landscapes and intellectual terrains. I am drawn to the complexity of urban spaces, where architecture and art converse in unexpected ways.

My interest in the quiet profundity of nature is a constant source of inspiration. I often delve into environmental mechanics and biomimicry, drawing upon the inherent designs and processes of nature to inform and shape my work. These observations inform many of my conceptual underpinnings, where research spans from the microscopic architecture of cells to the tectonics of geology and the complex systems of cosmology. Using this natural inspiration, I begin layering imagery, exploring composition, phenomenon and harmony. By bringing these contrasts into my work, I seek to evoke a sense of wonder and provoke contemplation on the intrinsic connections between space, memory, and perception.

I strive for my work to be interpreted on a universal level. I enjoy when responses are anything from a child’s curious gaze/interaction, a sophisticated aesthetic appreciation, or a deeper dive into the concept driven, intellectual underpinnings. I am most content when complexity is reduced to reveal the spiritual essence of a creative undertaking and meaning is subtly revealed through contemplation of the work.

Abbreviated CV

General Information

Ivan Toth Depeña

Charlotte, NC​

Education

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Masters in Architecture
Cambridge, MA
1998

University of Miami

Bachelor in Architecture
Miami, FL
1996

Pratt Institute

Bachelor in Architecture Candidate
Brooklyn, NY
1990-1994

School of Visual Arts

Public Art Residency
New York, NY
2010

Max/MSP/Jitter Certificate

Harvestworks
New York, NY
2008

Selected solo exhibitions

"lift"

Miami River Armory
Art Basel Miami Beach
Miami, FL
2017

"remember"

McColl Center for Arts + Innovation
Charlotte, NC
2016-2017

"Interconnections"

Connecticut College Gallery
New London, CT
2017

"Matter"

Praxis
New York, NY
Summer 2016

"The Moment"

Locust Projects.
Miami, Florida
Spring 2016

"¡SINFONICA!"

Charlotte Symphony.
Charlotte, NC
January 2016

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Masonry Institute of Iowa Appreciation Award

“Breaking Barriers” 
2023

Placemaking with Intention

CODAWorx
 “Aurum”
2022

Public Art "Year in Review" Award

Public Art Network and Americans for the Arts “Air/Traffic/Control”
2019

Public Art "Year in Review" Award

National Public Art Network
 “Surface”
2018

Public Spaces Award Winner

CODAWorx Top 100
“Arc”
2017

United States Artist Fellow Finalist

National Award
2017

CIFO Collections Finalist

Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation
2017

Knight Arts Challenge Winner

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
“Augmented Miami (A New Way of Experiencing Art)”
Miami, FL
2014-2016

Emilio Sanchez Award in Visual Arts Finalist

Cintas Foundation
2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016