“For me, creating art is a sacred healing practice.”

Image of Latina Visual Artist Jessica M. Gutierrez. She is a woman with dark hair and bright magenta lipstick smiling at the camera, sitting on a colorful sofa in a cozy room with a lamp, artworks, and books in the background.

ABOUT ME

Jessica M. Gutiérrez is a self-taught Nicaraguan-American Watercolor and Mixed Media Artist residing in Madison, WI. Jessica’s work is enchanting, magical and vibrant. Her bold use of color, intuitive linework and flower-adorned subjects, creates an energetic, emotional and authentic composition. Jessica tells visual stories of her healing journey and utilizes the creative process as a deeply personal healing practice. She is captivated by the pain and beauty that comes with the human experience, the wonder of creation in all of its manifestations, the importance of our ancestral stories and the resilience of the human spirit.

Artwork titled 'Gifts from the Dark' by Jessica M. Gutiérrez, featuring three colorful paintings with vibrant plants, flowers, and faces, displayed on a white gallery wall with the title and author's name at the top.

  • Honorable Mention Wisconsin Women’s Network 39th Artful Women | Madison, WI | 2025

  • Art Lit Lab’s Bridge Work Program Artist | Madison, WI | 2023-2025

  • Women Artist Forward Fund Art Prize Finalist | Madison, WI | 2023

Awards and Fellowships

Colorful art piece with floral and human motifs, featuring silhouettes of three women and vibrant flowers, with a black border; above it, silhouette outlines of two women holding hands, with a sun and butterflies.

  • Artist Series featuring Jessica M. Gutierrez | State Bar Association | Madison, WI | March-May 2025

  • Gifts from the Dark | Art Lit Lab | November 19-December 21, 2024

  • Art by Jessica M. Gutierrez | Shaman Mama Wellness | Madison, WI | 2020-2025

  • MMoCA’s Spring Gallery Night featuring Jessica M. Gutierrez | Aubergine | Madison, WI | Opening: May 5, 2025; Exhibit: May-July 2024

  • MMoCA’s Spring Gallery Night featuring Jessica M. Gutierrez Alvarado Realty | Madison, WI | May 5, 2023

  • MMoCA’s Fall Gallery Night featuring Jessica M. Gutierrez | Alvarado Realty | Madison, WI | November 12, 2021

  • Art by Jessica M. Gutierrez | Fair Trade Coffee House | Madison, WI | March-May 2017

Solo Exhibitions (selected)

Group of seven diverse people standing together indoors in front of white wall with framed artwork, smiling, with arms around each other.

“Dia de los Muertos” Gallery Night Exhibit @Commonwealth Development by Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD) on November 13, 2023.

Latine Artists Left to Right: Sophia Voelker, Jessica M. Gutiérrez, Issis Macias, Rodrigo Carapia, Roberto Torres Mata, Alex-Alejandro Punbra-Nilvio Alexander Punguil Bravo, Chele Ramos

  • 39th Artful Women | Wisconsin Women’s Network | UW-Hospital | Madison, WI | November-December 2025

  • Threads of Belonging |A juried art exhibition celebrating identity, heritage, and cultural storytelling through the voices of Latinx, Hispanic, and Indigenous artists | Dubuque Museum of Art | Dupaco Building, South Gallery, Dubuque, IA | October 2025-February 2026

  • Bridge Work: 10 Years | Peninsula School of Art and Gallery | Guenzel Gallery | Fish Creek, WI | June-July 2025

  • Door County Contemporary Art Fair | Peninsula School of Art and Gallery | Fish Creek, WI | June 2025

  • Bridge Work | Group Exhibition featuring Bridge Work artists from Madison, Milwaukee and Lexington | Allen Priebe Gallery | University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh | Oshkosh, WI | April 2025

  • Women Artists Forward Fund Group Exhibit for Applicants | Aubergine | Madison, WI | November-December 2024

  • Latino Art Fair Art Show | Commonwealth Development Gallery by LOUD | May 3, 2024

  • Creative Pursuits: Selections from Corpus Collosum Ebling Library’s online arts journal | Ebling Library | Madison, WI | October 16, 2023-December 8th, 2023 | opening-November 16th, 2023

  • Dia de los Muertos Gallery Night Exhibit | Commonwealth Development by LOUD | Madison, WI | opening-November 3rd, 2023; closing-November 13, 2023

  • Mingle and Masterpieces: 100 State’s Artful Evening | 100State/Madison, WI | November 3, 2023-May 2nd, 2024

  • Women Artists Forward Fund Group Exhibit for Applicants | Art Lit Lab | Madison, WI | September 22, 2023-November 11, 2023

  • Spreading Our Wings Gallery Night Celebration | 1973 Art Gallery—Red Gym | Madison, WI/September 25, 2023

  • LOUD Gallery Show | Omega High School | May 5, 2023-August 22, 2023

  • Local Motive Art Show | Madison Local Motive | December 17, 2021

Group Exhibitions (selected)

A display of colorful earrings and a red flower on a multicolored striped tablecloth with a wooden box containing holographic items, and a pink flower with green succulent plant nearby.
Colorful artwork prints in a gold wire basket, including a floral illustration with purple and black leaves on a yellow background.

Photos by Hedi LaMarr

Painting of a woman with dark hair styled in an updo decorated with flowers, wearing earrings and a red scarf, set against a background of red poppies and green foliage.
Display of colorful art prints featuring animals, including a cat with flowers, an elephant, a dog, and a tiger, on a market stall.

  • 2025 Mad Lit Series: R & B Spoken Word Night | Madison, WI | August 2025

  • Madison Mental Health Market | SOAR and Midtown Artisans | Madison, WI | May 2025

  • MMoCA’s Spring Gallery Night | Aubergine | Madison, WI | May 2024

  • Madison Mental Health Market | SOAR and Midtown Artisans | Madison, WI | November 2023

  • Outdoor Arts Festival | Dane Arts and Farley Center | September 2023

  • Kchonga | Madison, WI | May 2023

  • La Alianza 2023 Immigrant Justice Week | Madison, WI | April 2023

  • Latino Art Fair | Overture Center | Madison, WI | March 2023

  • Featured Artist: Jessica M. Gutierrez | Ruby Lu Hair Salon | Madison, WI | July-August 2022

  • Madison Makers Market Black Friday Market | Madison, WI | November 2021

  • Latinx Art Festival | CultivArte Colectivo event | Madison, WI | August 2021

  • Winter Art Fair | Ruby Lu Hair Salon | Madison, WI | November 2019

  • MMoCA’s Spring Gallery Night featuring latina artist Jessica M. Gutierrez | Barriques | Madison, WI | May 2018

Other Art Events

An indoor art gallery with people attending a presentation or event, sitting and standing, facing a speaker at a podium and colorful artwork on the walls.

  • “Gifts from the Dark” solo exhibition opening reception, November 22, 2024 at the Arts and Literature Laboratory

  • The Bipocalypse Podcast-Ep.1 Jessica M. Gutiérrez (Pankratz), 2021

  • Latinx Festival 2021 CultivArte Colectivo, Facebook Live Event, August, 18, 2021

  • Tierra, Arte y Cultura, Facebook Live Event, October 10, 2020

Artist Talks

Colorful artwork of a flower with vibrant pink, yellow, orange, and green hues, displayed outside a rock shop named 'Burnie's.'
Colorful abstract street art on a utility box in an urban setting, with a brick building, traffic light, and storefront in the background.

  • “A Quiet Flourishing” and “Bearing Witness” selected by Planned Parenthood’s Forward Art Initiative housed at Planned Parenthood’s new building in Milwaukee, WI/2023 https://forwardartinitiative.com/jessica-gutierrez

  • “La Flor #2 and La Flor #3 selected for Madison Utility Box Project-E. Johnson and Paterson/2023

  • “Koi Pond” print selected for Meriter Hospital Installation/Madison, WI/July 2021

  • “Happy Elephant” selected by DAIS, for their new building/ Madison, WI/May 2014

Installations

Mural Design

A colorful painting of a flamingo surrounded by purple and magenta flowers on a blue circular background.

Mural design for “Flock to State” Community Mural Painting Event on April 21, 2024

City of Madison’s Experimental Pedestrian Mall Madison, WI

People gathering outdoors in a city street to paint a large, colorful public mural featuring big flowers on the ground. Some individuals are kneeling and painting, while others observe. A woman sitting in a portable chair is watching. The scene takes place during the daytime with a sunny sky, in front of a brick building with storefronts, including a bar and grill.
People painting a large colorful mural on the sidewalk in an urban outdoor area with storefronts and trees.
People creating a colorful floral mural on the ground outdoors.
Sidewalk scene featuring an outdoor art display with a pink flamingo surrounded by tropical leaves and flowers, along with a cardboard box at the bottom and a street with pedestrians and storefronts in the background on a sunny day.
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