Exhibitions & Press

Alicia María Vallejo, a professional anthropologist, has found, in both art and painting, a form of communion with the environment. Her paintings depict spiritual renewal, using clean, vivid lines and vibrant, cheerful colors. Her contemporary touches have been influenced by Neo-Cubism and Pop Art. These paintings permeate the artist's optimistic vision and celebrate the simple and beautiful things in life.

AQUA, one of Alicia María's signature pieces, has been chosen multiple times to represent her homeland in museums and galleries across Colombia and the United States, including exhibitions in New York in 2013 and the Miami Beach Sister Cities event in 2012. Her work has been shown at numerous international exhibitions, including in Monaco, Belgium, France, China, Colombia, Peru and the United States, and in 2014 at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Her altruism has inspired her to use her art to help those in need. Alicia María has hosted and promoted fundraising events such as "Un Solo Corazón Pintando por Ecuador" after the 2016 earthquake, and has collaborated with organizations such as the Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation (2015) and various other non-profits.

In 2017, the City of North Miami honored Alicia María as its artist of Hispanic Heritage Month. Her journey into public art began in May 2018, when she won a call for artists by the City of Coral Gables and adorned an eight-foot replica of a Venetian mooring post (paline) with her "Natsukashii Tree" for the "Venice in the Gables" exhibit.

In November 2018 she became a muralist in North Miami Beach: "Forest of Joy", a triptych, brightens the park dedicated to the life of Hazel Fazzino. In May 2019 her second and third murals, "The Forest of Dreams" and "Butterfly", came to grace the main entrance of the North Miami Beach Library.

Alicia María's true passion is sharing her art and knowledge through teaching. She teaches young children and seniors at organizations, schools, libraries and cities, providing access to art education that helps shape better human beings. In 2020 she began a "knitting and painting community" initiative with students from the North Miami Beach Library's after-school program; sponsored by The Children's Trust, they transformed the Senator Gwen Margolis Amphitheater into a vibrant canvas. In 2021 the City of North Miami Beach honored her as an "NMB Sheroe" on International Women's Day for her dedication to arts education and the well-being of the city's youth and seniors.

In November 2022, under Alicia María's artistic and anthropological direction, the Tawala Wayuu Fest covered more than thirty trees of Parque 93 in Bogotá, Colombia, with Wayuu indigenous fabrics and ancestral patterns. Back in North Miami Beach, her Connecting and Painting Community program brought residents together to crochet the palm-tree installation of 2024, the Dancing Umbrellas of 2025 and, in 2026, a car covered in crochet for breast cancer awareness.

Alicia María Vallejo's multifaceted journey as an artist, anthropologist and community advocate continues to inspire and enrich lives through her commitment to art, education and the celebration of life's beauty.