Artist Bio

July Cortes Cardenas is a Colombian artist based in Auckland, New Zealand, whose practice explores reinvention through unconventional materials. Since 2020, she has pioneered the use of soap as an artistic medium, developing original techniques through years of research, experimentation, and hands-on practice.

Drawing on her background as a former pastry chef, July combines craftsmanship with artistic innovation to create stained glass-inspired works, paintings on MDF, and one-off upcycled pieces. Her process incorporates unexpected materials, including soap colourants, micas, makeup, nail polish, and even plastic bags as drawing tools to produce richly textured artworks with a distinctive wax-like finish.

At the heart of her practice is the idea that beauty and value can emerge from the most ordinary and overlooked materials. By transforming an everyday object into a work of art, July invites viewers to reconsider their perceptions of creativity, resilience, and possibility, demonstrating that transformation is not only an artistic process but a deeply human one.