Andrea Portela Moreno was born in Spain and now lives in the Byron Bay area on Bundjalung Country in Australia. Taking her inspiration from urban environments, modern architecture and photography, Portela has been influenced by pioneers like Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright in her hard-edged geometric abstraction works.
Raised in Madrid and living there until her mid thirties, Andrea was exposed to masterpieces by Velazquez, Goya, Picasso and Dali amongst others during regular trips with her mother to some of the world’s greatest galleries. From a young age, surrounded by books on painting, architecture and photography, art became a part of the fabric of her life.
After originally studying photography, she spent seven years working at major record labels in Madrid, working alongside national and international artists. By 2006 her life had brought her to Australia and she pursued opportunities to develop her creative work. She graduated from Byron School of Art in 2020.
Moving back and forth between Spain and Australia, and travelling extensively throughout the world, has contributed to Andrea’s expanding interests in specialist fields such as Minimal Art, Colour Field and Hard Edge (all of which are reflected in her work.) She has contributed to numerous group exhibitions, including Practice at Grafton Regional Gallery (NSW) in 2021, and was selected as a finalist in the BAM Art Prize in 2021 and continues to develop her practice in her Byron Bay studio. This year 2024 she has had her first solo show “Vanishing Point” at Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW, Australia
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 “Vanishing Point” Tweed Regional Gallery, Murwillumbah
2020 Punch and Daisy, Mullumbimby
2020 Bay Leaf , Byron Bay
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 “Line”, Art Kind Gallery, Byron Bay, NSW Australia
2021 “ Embrace”, Brisbane Grammar School Art Show, QLD, Australia
2021 “Practice”, Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW, Australia
2020 “ Abandon proceedings” exhibitions, Byron School of Art, NSW, Australia
2019 Second Year graduation show, Byron School of Art, Mullumbimby, NSW,
Australia
2018 BSA student exhibition, Byron School of Art, Mullumbimby, NSW, Australia
2018 C.A.S.E. Inc Postcard Show, Byron School of Art, A, Mullumbimby, NSW,
Australia
PUBLICATIONS
2024 Cover and column for “Northely”, Byron Writers Festival Magazine.
Australia
2020 Interview to artist Guillermo Mora for Byron Arts Magazine. Australia
ART COMPETITIONS
2021 Finalist in Byron Arts Magazine BAM prize, NSW, Australia