Isabela Markus Nafarrate is a Mexican multidisciplinary artist and curator based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Through a mixture of painting and sculpture, her work explores symbols and experiences of gender, nationalism, and foreignness. Isabela is currently pursuing her Bachelor's with a double major in Studio Arts and History at Concordia University.
My practice is a reclamation of autonomy through play, colour, and movement. In my work, I aim to navigate the tensions between the intimate and the foreign, pleasure and destruction. Springing from my experiences as a woman and immigrant, which demand living in constant contradictions, I am drawn to moments of dissonance. I am curious about what nostalgia and exoticization reveal about colonial and patriarchal narratives. Embracing both materiality and research, my multidisciplinary practice spans oil painting, textiles, sculpture, dance, and video. My curatorial approach and habit of throwing parties in my apartment come from the same instinct to create moments for connection and reflection. 

Exhibitions

  • 2025  Nourrir la nostalgie, Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain.
  • 2025  Post Mortem, Art Matters Festival Staff Exhibition, VAV Gallery. 
  • 2025  manifesting gardens, 2025 Undergraduate Student Exhibtion, FOFA Gallery.
  • 2024  Fleeting Flexitites, [UN]PROMPTU     Collective, Atelier Galerie 2112.
  • 2024  Cicatriz, VAV Gallery.
  • 2024  Luxury Goods, Luxury Bads, Art Matters Festival, Produit Rien.
  • 2022  Homesick, Concordia’s Painting and Drawing Association, Atelier Galerie 2112.

Press


Experience

  • 2024 - 2025  Programming Coordinator, Art Matters Festival.
  • 2023 - 2025  Board Member, Fine Arts Student Alliance, Concordia University.
  • 2023 - 2024  Administrative and Financial Coordinator, VAV Gallery.
  • 2022 - 2023  Board Member, Fine Arts Reading Room, Concordia University.
  • 2022 - 2023  Board Member, VAV Gallery