Tina Alberni’s upbringing spanned oceans. Born in New York, Alberni, one of the Charlotte NC artists, moved with her family to Puerto Rico before later settling in Bogotá, Colombia. “Growing up in Bogotá was a colorful, multifaceted experience shaped by the contrasts of joy and tragedy, beauty and ugliness, privilege and poverty,” recalls Alberni.
When she was six, her mother set up an easel outside. She then carefully poured the vibrancy of the surrounding flowers, trees, and mountains onto a canvas, transforming it from blank to brilliant, empty to alive. Alberni watched, fascinated, until her mother handed her a pint-sized canvas and some oil paint. At that moment, she created her first painting. Thus began her exploration of art making. This would give her the means to process, occupy, and express the contrasts and complexities of life that she first witnessed during her childhood abroad.
Alberni moved back to the U.S. to attend college. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education with a focus in printmaking. All the while, she learned valuable lessons on “trusting the process, exploring layers, and appreciating repetition” that would continue to resonate throughout her artistic career. After graduating, she taught middle and high school art classes for 15 years. Simultaneously, she ran a small graphic design business on the side while also dabbling in abstract figurative mixed media drawings in her spare time.
When she and her husband relocated to Charlotte in 2007, she devoted herself to making and curating art full time.
A Diverse Portfolio from One of the Charlotte NC Artists
Pivotal projects in Alberni’s portfolio include a series of vibrant geometric paintings exploring the contrast between technological connectivity and human disconnection that she created over the course of six years. Soon after, Alberni began to combine organic, abstract, nature-inspired imagery with glass mosaics. Then, in 2018, she started the work that she continues today: paintings, collages, and installations informed and inspired by contemporary issues. “Art’s ability to inspire reflection and dialogue is unmatched,” claims Alberni. “It reminds us of our shared humanity and the need for empathy, action, and responsibility.”
She classifies herself as a multidisciplinary intuitive artist. To her, this means “engaging in a fluid dialogue with materials, embracing versatility, and approaching each project with fresh eyes.” She folds a certain amount of physicality into her process. Specifically, she ties body movement to mark making and, in doing so, grounding the abstract in the corporeal. As such, she often gravitates toward larger scale projects, where this style of creative expression works best.
Artistic Process
Regardless of what she’s working on, her creative process typically starts with research that elicits an emotional response. She channels that emotional energy through her body and into her work so that shapes and forms begin to emerge. She layers in texture via pastes, fibers, and found objects, before finally adding final marks and carving into the underpainting.
Her process and her ever-evolving creative interests yield a diverse portfolio. Nevertheless, her work is unified by an underlying theme: resilience. Alberni suffers from a life-threatening congenital connective tissue disorder called Marfan Syndrome. Throughout the surgeries and the health struggles, she has had to learn how to celebrate her body and embrace its ebbs and flows. This awareness also inform the pace of her life and the nature and volume of her work.
“My artistic rhythm,” says Alberni, “mirrors life’s natural flow – sometimes steady, sometimes unpredictable, but always moving forward.”
