Biography
Stefanie Schikora was born on May 8, 1966, in Mannheim, Germany. She completed a specialized Art and Design diploma in 1986 and studied Graphic Design at the Wiesbaden School of Applied Arts. After earning her degree in 1991, she continued her studies in Fashion Design at the Hamburg School of Applied Arts, where she focused on drawing, painting, and illustration. A trip to Mexico in 1993 inspired her to stay in Mérida, Yucatán, the city where she has lived since 1994.
Her artistic purpose is summed up in 'Paintings to live with.' Beyond their decorative value, she seeks to generate positive emotions and awareness through her work. For her, a painting should be like pleasant company that brings something valuable to life — something that reaches deep inside. The words of Immanuel Kant, 'Art is not the representation of a beautiful thing, but the beautiful representation of a thing,' have become her personal motto.
Canvases prepared with stitching, where painting and weaving meet
Her work lies between the figurative and the abstract, and although she explores and blends various currents, she has developed a personal, fresh, and unmistakable artistic language. In her pursuit of pure and spontaneous expression, she sets aside reality to merge techniques and emphasize the sensation that colors convey. Her subjects range from the human body to fantastic and mythological beings, including flora and fauna that come alive in her pictorial universe.
Stefanie works primarily with acrylics on canvas or paper, as well as mixed media and drawing. She incorporates materials such as papers, fabrics, sand, and other natural elements to create diverse textures, and has developed a special technique on canvases previously prepared with stitching. Playful collages and games of volumes complete a creative process as tactile as it is visual.
'Children's drawings have been a great source of inspiration for me, as they have a fresh vision and a unique ability to capture the essence of things,' the artist says. That unaffected gaze resonates throughout her work, keeping the spirit of childhood intact in textile worlds where figuration blends with abstraction.
Since 1994, she has worked as an independent artist and in the fields of design, muralism, illustration, and teaching. She has brought her vision to muralism — with works at the IMSS High Specialty Hospital —, to illustration — with the book 'A Lucas todo le sale mal' by María Luisa Puga — and to collaborations with cultural spaces and hotels such as Fiesta Americana and the Hyatt. Throughout her career, she has held over 90 solo and group exhibitions in Germany, Mexico, Belize, and the United States.
Key moments that have shaped my artistic practice and creative vision over the years.
JAM Guadalajara Biennial Shortlist
Shortlisted for the JAM Guadalajara Biennial, cementing her presence in the Mexican contemporary art scene.
JAM Guadalajara Biennial Shortlist
Shortlisted for the JAM Guadalajara Biennial, cementing her presence in the Mexican contemporary art scene.
Fantastic Beings in Sight
Solo exhibition gathering her pictorial bestiary: dreamlike creatures, alebrijes, and mythological beings inhabiting her canvases.
Fantastic Beings in Sight
Solo exhibition gathering her pictorial bestiary: dreamlike creatures, alebrijes, and mythological beings inhabiting her canvases.
Trees with Soul
A series where trees sing in spiral voices, stretch out their arms with gestural expression, and turn their foliage into sinuous flames.
Trees with Soul
A series where trees sing in spiral voices, stretch out their arms with gestural expression, and turn their foliage into sinuous flames.
Women
Exploration of the female human body through the fusion of figuration and abstraction, with emphasis on the power of color.
Women
Exploration of the female human body through the fusion of figuration and abstraction, with emphasis on the power of color.
Bestiary
First major exhibition of her fantastic creatures — beings that renounced their sculptural nature to become pictorial within her vibrant palette.
Bestiary
First major exhibition of her fantastic creatures — beings that renounced their sculptural nature to become pictorial within her vibrant palette.
Independent Artist
Completes Fashion Design studies in Hamburg and begins working independently as a painter.
Independent Artist
Completes Fashion Design studies in Hamburg and begins working independently as a painter.
Arrival in Mexico
A trip to Mexico in 1993 makes her fall in love with Mérida. She settles in Yucatán the following year, finding her artistic home.
Arrival in Mexico
A trip to Mexico in 1993 makes her fall in love with Mérida. She settles in Yucatán the following year, finding her artistic home.
Education in Germany
Art and Design high school diploma (1986) and Graphic Design degree from Wiesbaden School of Applied Arts, where she excels in painting and illustration.
Education in Germany
Art and Design high school diploma (1986) and Graphic Design degree from Wiesbaden School of Applied Arts, where she excels in painting and illustration.
In the wildest part of her creations, Stefanie Schikora finds that wild innocence that transforms into the dancing pulse of all her canvases.
Her creatures are actually alebrijes, their bodies filled with details and shapes, enchanted by the artist's palette — they immediately renounced their sculptural nature to take on a pictorial one.
Her style, inspired by alebrijes and children's drawings, is characterized by a burst of vibrant colors and unique textures, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in worlds full of magic and reflection.