Cristina Natsuko Paulos
artist
bio/statement
My work is emotionally driven, exploring the raw, vulnerable parts of what it means to be human. The Mirror Twins reflect the duality and complexity of our inner selves.
Cristina Natsuko Paulos
Cristina Natsuko Paulos – Artist Biography
Cristina Natsuko Paulos is an award-winning artist, animator, cartoonist, painter, puppet artist, professional sign painter, teacher, and published illustrator.
Paulos grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California and relocated to Las Vegas in 2002. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Character Animation in 2006. In 2009, she transitioned from animation to pursue a full-time career as a visual artist.
Her work explores surrealist storytelling through mirrored twin characters, female archetypes, and figures drawn from life. Deeply influenced by her background in animation, Paulos incorporates impressions of movement and gesture, crafting narratives that speak to the emotional and spiritual complexities of human identity.
“My artwork derives from life—vulnerability juxtaposed with the cartoon surreal world,” says Paulos. “My goal is to reveal the marks and capture the pieces we often try to hide—our flaws, our discomfort, our emotional nakedness. I hope to show strength in vulnerability through emotionally driven approaches to art-making.”
She works with a wide variety of materials including loose graphite, charcoal, acrylics, watercolor, gouache, sumi ink, dyes, recycled paper bags, handmade paper, fabric, canvas, and wood.
Paulos has exhibited at leading galleries such as Joseph Watson Gallery (Las Vegas), Gallery Nucleus, Gallery 1988, Phantom Galleries, and La Luz de Jesus Gallery (Los Angeles). Her work has also been featured in the Cirque du Soleil Contemporary Art Collection in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and she completed an animation short for the “Life Is Beautiful Festival” in Downtown Las Vegas.
Her animation has appeared on Sesame Street as part of a short created for the Sesame Workshop, for which she was awarded the prestigious Sesame Street Workshop Scholarship. Her films have screened at festivals in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. She has received multiple grants from the Nevada Arts Council, including two Jackpot Grants and a 2008 Artist Fellowship.
Cristina’s practice centers around the organic foundations of humanness. Whether in cartoon form or fine art, her work invites the viewer to explore the uncomfortable, the raw, and the deeply personal—yet always with a sense of tenderness and strength.
Cristina Natsuko Paulos
Born in San Fernando Valley, CA
Resides currently in Las Vegas area
Education
BFA 2006 California Institute of the Arts, Character Animation
Grants/Awards/Fellowships
2014 Jackpot Grant, Nevada Art Council
2013 Jackpot Grant, Nevada Art Council
2011 Professional Development Grant, Nevada Art Council
2011 Cirque Du Soleil Cultural Action Support Grant
2010 Best in Show, First Friday Las Vegas Fundraiser Art Auction
2010 Jackpot Grant, Nevada Art Council
2008 Artist Fellowship Recipient, Nevada Art Council
2005 Sesame Street Workshop Scholarship
2000 Canvas Peddler Award, Brand Library Art Galleries
Solo Exhibitions
2017 Untitled, Joseph Watson Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
2015 Down the Rabbit Hole…, Gallery 6, Las Vegas, NV
2014 Rhythm, Line, and Stroke: Female, Tasty Space, Las Vegas, NV
2014 Rhythm, Line, and Stroke: Male, Winchester Cultural Art Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
2013 Help Is On The Way, Blackbird Studios, Las Vegas, NV
2011 Localized Anonymity, Blackbird Studios, Las Vegas, NV, Selected works featured at Caramel Lounge at Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV
2011 Intrinsic Duality, (Six person Group Show) La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Revisit: Who Cares for you?.., Black Maria Gallery (Project Room), Los Angeles, CA
2007 Who Cares for you? You’re only a pack of cards”, The Fall Out Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
Group Exhibitions
2020 Go! Figure, Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA
2017 Grrrl Show, Apama Gallery, Huston, TX
2017 Mother May I—Thumbprint Gallery, La Jolla, CA
2017 Bared: The Art of Bras and Breasts, Spencer & Kuehn Fine Jewerly Studio, Morgantown, WV
2016 Small Space Fest, Emergency Arts, Las Vegas, NV
2016 Play, LAMAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Coaster Show, La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 26th Annual Juried Show, CAC, Las Vegas, NV
2015 Laluzapalooza, La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Platinum Blend, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014 Life is Beautiful, Western, curated by VAST Space Projects, Las Vegas, NV
2014 MAS Attack, VAST Space Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada
2014 Crossing the Mt. Diablo Meridian Baseline, TMCC Main Gallery, Reno NV
2014 Art of the Spectacular, bG at Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA
2013 Greeting from Las Vegas, Room 5, Gateway Motel, Las Vegas, NV
2013 Post it Show, Giant Robot Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Some fine Women Drawing Room, Vast Space Projects, Henderson, NV
2013 Year of the Snake, Giant Robot Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Freak Show, WWA Gallery, Culver City, CA
2011 Small Works Group Show, Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 minUMENTAL: freshMEAT, Trifecta Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
2011 La Luz De Jesus' 25, La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Crazy for Cult, Gallery Nineteen-Eighty-Eight, Los Angeles, Ca
2011 Everything But the Kitsch 'N Sync, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, LA, CA
2010 Horrorwood, WWA Gallery, Culver City, CA
2010 Crazy for Cult 2, Gallery Nineteen-Eighty-Eight,, San Francisco, CA
2010 Everything But the Kitsch 'N Sync, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, LA, CA
2010 Character Matters, The Fall Out Gallery, Vegas, NV
2009 Under The Influence: He-man And The Masters Of The Universe, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Post-it Note Show, Giant Robot Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Holiday Exhibition, Bleicher/Golightly Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2009, Femininity, Wizard Sleeve Toys and WST Worldwide, Art Basel-Miami, FL
2009 Hidden Treasures, Phantom Galleries, Curators Lark Pilinsky & A. Miziolek Long Beach, CA
2008 Crocodile Tears, Giant Robot Gallery, Curator Cheryl Kaminsky , NYC, NY
2008 All In It Together, Gallery Nineteen-Eighty-Eight, San Francisco, CA
2008 On, Of, and About Paper, OCCCA, Curators Shelly Bancroft & Peter Nesbett, Santa Ana, CA
2007 V Juried Show, Galeria Galou, NY, ARWI International Art Fair
2006 Round up Group Show, Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, NV
2006 Third Annual Marginalia Festival: A Night of Illustrated Objects And Live Sound, The Smell, LA
2005 Duck Fever Show, Mercado, Barcelona, Spain
2005 The Girl Show, Nucleus, Alhambra, CA
2004 Bridgin the Gap, Glasshouse, Pomona, CA
2003 BoS$, Winchester Community Center Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
2002 Group Show, Alamo Gallery, Las Vegas, NV
2000 Works on Paper, Brand Art Library Galleries, Glendale, CA (Canvas Peddler Award)
Pupperty Performances
2008 Toy Theatre Puppetry Performance.
“Monkey and the Crab”, Sahara Library West, Las Vegas,NV, Asian Pacific Heritage Festival,
Public Outreach Program, funding by Nevada Art Council.
2005 Toy Theatre Puppetry Performance.
“The Butchermen”, California Institute of the Arts, Theater I, Valencia, CA,
Directed by Jeanette Yew
Screenings of Animation
2014 Make your Bed, Life is Beautiful, at the Western, Las Vegas, NV
2007 Rid, Channel Frederator's The World’s Original Cartoon Podcast
2005 The Adventures of Marvelous Molly, Sesame Street Workshop, NY
2002 Rid, SMPTE/RAVA Student Film and Video Festival, Rochester, NY
Lectures and Workshops
2013 Intuitive Workshop. Blackbird Studios, Las Vegas, NV
2008 Official Speaker. Yaris Road to Success (College Career Fair), College of Southern
Nevada, North Las Vegas, NV
PUBLICATION and EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
2013 SOME FINE WOMEN, EXHIBITION CATALOGUE, LAS VEGAS, NV: P. 26, 28
2011 La Luz De Jesus 25 The Little Gallery That Could. Last Gasp of San Francisco: P. 192
2009 Garden of Eye Candy. Featured Artist. Bigbros Workshop and Basheer Graphic Books :
P.207-211
2008 On, Of, and About Paper, Exhibition Catalogue, OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA
Bibliography/Radio/Web
2014 Dawn-Michelle Baude, Las Vegas Weekly, CRISTINA PAULOS DEPICTS A BROAD RANGE OF DESIRES IN ‘RHYTHM, LINE AND STROKE’, September 3, 2014
2013 Jenessa Kenway. City Life, First Friday Round Up, July 4-10
2013 Kristen Peterson. Las Vegas Weekly, Seek out Help Is On The Way,July 4-10
2011 Featured Artist, default magazine, Issue 13
2011 Jarret Keene. Las Vegas’ Seven, Art Pick, June 2-8
2011 Melissa Arseniuk, Flavorpill, Editor’s Pick Art: Painting and Drawing, June 9
2010 Jacie Urquidi-Maynard. Whirlygig Inc. First Friday Fundraiser, Examiner.com,
2010 Ken Harman. Intrinsic Duality , Hi-Fructose: the blog , July 06, 2010
2010 Guest on Radio Broadcast: KNPR's State of Nevada, First Friday: Artist Interview,
Nevada Public Radio, April 02
2010 Jenessa Kenway. First Friday Roundup, Las Vegas' City Life
2010 PJ Perez. At First Friday, Character Matters, Las Vegas' Seven,:P.82 March 04
2009 Liz Ohanesian. “Creates Hanafuda Cards with a Lolita Sensibility”, LA Weekly: Style Blog , October 15
2009 Featured Artist. C-Heads Magazine, Issue 16: P.80-91
2009 Featured Artist. House of Tate , Issue 12
2008 GRAB Magazine, Issue 4
2009 Featured Artist. Notcot Blog, notcot.org
2009 Featured Artist. Design Milk Blog, design-milk.com : October 07
2007 Featured Artist. Vain Magazine, Issue 2 (page 44)
2007 Jarret Keene. “Flower Power” Las Vegas' City Life, April 27, :56
2007 Jennifer Henry. “Artful Ideas” , 944 magazine, June 2007: 52
2007 Beverly Bryan. “Art Dealing” , Sunrise View,
2007 “Out and About”, H+D Home and Design, April :130
2007 Jarret Keene. Las Vegas “Pick of the Week: The Science of Cute”, Las Vegas City Life, January 18
2006 Featured Artist. Juxtapoz Magazine Online, juxtapoz.com
Collections
cirque du soleil corporate collection
​