Exhibiting as part of LIGHTBOX 2026, Sierra Montoya Barela presents vibrant paintings of domestic interiors where everyday objects take on symbolic weight—exaggerated colours and clashing patterns blur the line between windows and paintings, while plants function as portraits in spaces that reference her Mexican heritage and Catholic upbringing.
SIERRA MONTOYA BARELA
Sierra Montoya Barela is an American artist based in Brooklyn, New York, who creates paintings, sculptures, collages, and prints that explore domestic spaces as sites of memory and meaning. Born in Colorado in 1993, Barela transforms imagined interiors into vibrant compositions where ornate tilework, clay objects, and decorative elements carry symbolic resonance.
Barela’s practice is deeply informed by her background as a product designer for Urban Outfitters Home and West Elm Kids, which sharpened her curatorial eye for composition and spatial arrangement. Her paintings feature exaggerated colours and clashing patterns with flattened perspectives that create visual ambiguity—what appears to be a window might be a painting on a wall, and vice versa. This deliberate blurring invites viewers to question their perception of space and representation.
Plants occupy a central role in her work, functioning almost as portraits rather than mere decorative elements. These botanical subjects anchor her compositions while connecting to broader themes of growth, care, and domestic life. The ornate tilework, clay objects, and decorative patterns throughout her paintings reference her Mexican heritage and Catholic upbringing, creating layers of cultural and personal meaning within seemingly simple interior scenes.
Barela earned her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Her work has been exhibited at Post Gallery Zurich, Galerie Robertson Arès in Montreal, and as part of the Octopus Initiative at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, establishing her voice within contemporary painting’s exploration of domestic space and cultural identity.
Screening: January 21 to February 15, 2026
Screening times and more at www.lightbox20.net
Image Credit: Artwork crop, Sierra Montoya Barela