Colombian-American artist Jimena Buena Vida infuses catharsis into each piece she creates. As a self-taught digital artist, trained engineer, and mother of two, she merges her technical knowledge with strong emotional intelligence to create abstract generative art, inviting collectors to embrace healing and personal transformation.
Buena Vida was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and now resides in the U.S. Her mission is to inspire underrepresented artists to believe in their creative vision. Her series has sold out, including the generative art series 'Epiphanies' that deeply explores fundamental aspects of existence and the layered interpretations of identity, and her animated piece 'Where We Come From' gained attention in the 23rd Latin Grammy Awards® NFT series.
This interview took place in the lounge at Thunderbird Marfa during the Marfa Arts District weekend, where Buena Vida shared her journey, her creative process, and how generative art is reshaping the creative possibilities in her life.
Note: This record has been edited for conciseness and clarity.
OpenSea: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your work?
Jimena Buena Vida: My work began with the desire to create a space for catharsis. I believe we all go through different levels of trauma, and through my art, my goal is to create a space where people realize we don’t have to be identified or marked by trauma forever; instead, we can digest and process the things that hurt us and move toward a place filled with compassion, self-love, and love for others.
OpenSea: What initially drew you to create generative art?
Jimena Buena Vida: What drew me to create generative art is that I learned about NFTs and realized that I could leverage my coding skills to create works that resonate with people. I have a background in computer science and engineering, so in a way, transitioning from handcrafting in ProCreate to trying to use the coding skills I had from university to translate my vision was an easy shift.
This is interesting because at first I really struggled with imposter syndrome; I never truly became a programmer on my own, I just did this for work. But what impresses me is realizing that in creative coding and generative art, beauty comes from mistakes and errors.
I realized that when I feel I am not good enough or make mistakes in coding, those moments actually create more beauty in my art. So for me, it's a shift; it became a meaningful outlet where I could attempt programming in a creative and fulfilling way.
OpenSea: How do your personal experiences, culture, and background influence your work?
Jimena Buena Vida: That's a great question because I feel I am in a certain stage of my life where I feel very sensitive and open to experiences, and inspiration comes almost effortlessly. I engage in practices like spending a lot of time outdoors, walking, and connecting with nature. For example, utilizing the movement of trees and water, integrating that into my work, bringing to life pieces inspired by these natural elements is just wonderful.
But it's not just nature; as a mother raising two children, I draw endless inspiration from them. It’s wonderful to see my daughters are natural artists, and for them, anything is possible. Everything they create is a masterpiece.
They don’t suffer from imposter syndrome or self-doubt; they don’t sit there asking themselves, 'Does what I create have coherence with the last piece?' For them, it’s just about creating for the sake of creating, and once it’s done, they move on to the next piece.
Many things inspire me. I am very experimental, and I think that comes from observing my daughters and their natural, fearless creativity. They have taught me many ways to let creativity flow naturally.
OpenSea: What practices or approaches help you enter a creative flow state?
Jimena Buena Vida: I love to meditate; I have been a devoted meditator for years. Just meditating for ten minutes every morning after waking up helps me find calm amidst chaos.
For a long time – about thirty years – I was stuck in a mindset that perfectionism and achieving perfect results in life were the only way. But art has humbled me and guided me to recognize that chaos and imperfection are the true me.
Through meditation, and the practice of walking in nature I mentioned earlier, I slowly – though this is still a work in progress – learned to find calm amidst chaos and discomfort, which is about allowing myself to embrace the unknown. This mindset enables me to continue exploring and experimenting in a medium with such vast creative opportunities.
OpenSea: What is your starting point for creating generative art? Do you start from an idea, an algorithm, a set of rules, or something else?
Jimena Buena Vida: Usually, I start with a color palette; color has absolutely become a language in my work that changes every day. It varies depending on my mood or what I am experiencing at the time, and for me, there doesn’t necessarily have to be a clear goal.
When I finish a piece of art, I let the piece tell me what to do. Many people ask, 'How do you know when a piece of art is finished? How do you know your work is complete?' Honestly, I never feel my work is truly finished.
I know that when I don’t have a sense of completion or an ending, I can get stuck, but I feel I can endlessly create a piece, especially for generative art, as you can change the code in countless ways – you can start from X and end at Z.
It's like Play-Doh: if you don’t let it dry, you can always go back to it, continue shaping it, create new works, or even break it apart and create new works with those pieces. Generative art is a very beautiful medium with infinite possibilities.
OpenSea: What tools or platforms do you use in your creative process?
Jimena Buena Vida: Now, I love a platform called OpenProcessing; it’s a fantastic tool that truly helps me solve attention issues. It helps me keep things visually organized while managing multiple projects at the same time.
OpenProcessing allows me the freedom to experiment, starting with an algorithm, tweaking it, and creating different outputs from the same seed. I am very grateful for such tools that make this process exciting and easy to understand.
OpenSea: What does this weekend in Marfa mean to you?
Jimena Buena Vida: Being in Marfa feels magical. I believe this little town has a mystique and beauty in itself, as it embodies a lot of energy related to art and creativity.
Today, when chatting with someone, I mentioned that this little town has a bit of an eerie, mysterious, and artistic vibe. In a way, it also has typical American qualities – when you walk the streets, you see a lot of American feel, but at the same time, you have museums, weather, dryness, and a slow pace, all of which help you enter a creative flow.
Being in Marfa also gives me a sense of belonging and connection. This is my second time here, and so far, the amazing, wonderful one-on-one conversations I've had are what keep bringing me back. The people here make it so special, and it’s incredible to meet so many unique creative and wise individuals – not just artists, but also marketers, curators, and many others.
It's fascinating to learn from everyone and feel this immense sense of connection and community. Honestly, it’s all about people and those moments of connection, which is why I keep coming back. I feel there are so many beautiful things in this world, we all have our place and a sense of belonging, because we are all so special and unique in many ways. Coming here is truly uplifting.
OpenSea: Finally, where can people find your work?
Jimena Buena Vida: You can find me on X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
OpenSea: Thank you very much for taking the time and for your thoughtful answers!
Jimena Buena Vida: Thank you very much! This is amazing.
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