About

Biography

Antonia Pretelt is a Colombian-American painter born in Tampa, Florida. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Florida State University and is based in Tallahassee, Florida. With a long-standing love of the visual arts, Antonia has amassed a body of work that has been featured in several local exhibitions, including FSU’s Club Down Under, the Phyllis Straus Gallery, and FSU's Fine Arts Building Gallery.

Artist Statement

My artwork investigates the intersection of cultural expression and nature through mixed media painting. Primarily working with acrylic paint, I create images inspired by the colors, textures and patterns of wildlife and vegetation from Colombia and Florida, the two regions I feel my identity is most tied to. My work seeks to reflect the exchange of cultures I have experienced growing up within the United States as the daughter of two Colombian immigrants.

Currently, I am exploring the concept of hybridity as a bridge between the biological and cultural realms. Through the fusion of Floridan and Colombian nature and iconography, I wish to create hybrid entities that symbolize the blend of backgrounds that have forged my cultural identity. I am inspired by the conventions of ancient Colombian goldwork and reinterpret these symmetrical objects in my practice as an introspection of legacy and cultural inheritance. Recombining and mutating native plants alongside these traditional forms, I create imagined lifeforms that fuse biology and culture. Within my work, I convey a new perspective of Colombian American identity, one that is forged from an abundance of influences in an increasingly globalized society.

CV

Antonia Pretelt

Tallahassee, Florida

antoniapreteltb@gmail.com

EDUCATION

Expected Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art

2026 Florida State University | Tallahassee, Florida

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026 Horizon: Speculative Worlds and Interdisciplinary Research

Fine Arts Building Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2026 350°

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2025 The Feline Straus Show

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2025 The Next Season: Art and Climate of the Future

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2025 Menagerie

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2025 Interlocking Art: A Multi-Medium Gala

Club Down Under and FSU’s Department of Student Engagement | Tallahassee, Florida

2025 Feeling Pink

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2025 Myriad

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2024 Of Roots and Beasts

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2024 Interplay

Phyllis Straus Gallery | Tallahassee, Florida

2024 Interlocking Art: A Multi-Medium Gala

Club Down Under and FSU’s Department of Student Engagement | Tallahassee, Florida

AWARDS

2025 Susan and Mark Messersmith Art Scholarship