“But after a while talking to her and looking at her art, you get the feeling that she’s not so much an uncomfortable person as she is curious and awed. Her “foreign-ness” seems more like a child’s curiosity, as she seems to be looking around the world for new and amazing things to find a better understanding of the world in which she lives.”
-Shawn Olson, art critic, 2002
Mabi Ponce de León (Ph.D., History of Art, The Ohio State University, 2023; M.F.A., Studio Arts, Stony Brook University, 1992) is an independent scholar and artist. Born and raised in Argentina, she has lived and taught studio art at the Universidad de Monterrey in Nuevo León, Mexico, and currently teaches studio and art history courses at a top-rated Ohio school. Her art historical research centers on Latin American artists responding to politics. Her current focus investigates 1960s Argentinian women artists associated with the DiTella Institute who question the centers of power. Research also plays an important part in Ponce de León’s artwork.
Ponce de León’s studio practice employs analog and digital media to explore cultural iconography, maps, location, and origins. Her installation work makes use of manipulated natural and manufactured materials whereas her two-dimensional work relies on the layering of found imagery within constructed environments. Ponce de León shows in university and commercial galleries, art centers, museums, and non-profit spaces. Additionally, she has curated shows and worked with various arts organizations, including serving on the board of the Ohio Art League. A member of Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, she participated in Mirror Mirror; which traveled to the Springfield Museum of Art, the University of Mary Washington Galleries, the College of Wooster’s Art Museum, and the Allen County Museum. Highlights from this year include ImageOHIO and Zanesville Museum of Art’s 79TH Ohio Annual Exhibition. Finally, Ponce de León earned a juror’s award in the Ohio Arts Council’s 2025 Biennial Exhibition.