Renee Shapiro: Jan 2021 - May 2021 Mayan Iconography.

Passionate about oil painting, Renee Shapiro is a UCLA-trained art historian specializing in ancient and non-Western art, as well as an aesthetic anthropologist (M.A., UCLA). She began creating Egyptian-themed paintings at the age of 20 and followed her passion to study Egyptian hieroglyphs, art, and architecture while majoring in art history at UCLA. Her interest in symbolism, ethnography, and ethnographic photography fueled her later exploration into Mayan and Orientalist North African art.

During the years of her creative journey, Renee has taught Architectural History, AP Art History, and Advanced Painting at the Architecture, Digital Arts, and Filmmaking Magnet School in Granada Hills.

Renee’s recent work focuses on Mayan iconography, particularly portraits of Mayan female rulers. Her Orientalist paintings demonstrate a 19th-century Orientalist influence and reflect an ethnographically sensitive approach to her subject matter, featuring exotic North African women in tribal dress. She has travelled throughout Mexico and West Africa and plans to study Moroccan and Moorish architecture as a background for her upcoming work.