Portfolio
OCEANS APART
Oceans Apart is a series of pieces that express ideas of separation within families living in different lands. Water is what separates and unites us therefore, it is used as the main setting in this series.
The Reunion, 2023, (96" x 60") acrylic painting on canvas
The Reunion is a large painting of families reuniting after many years of separation, as if they walked the same oceans that separate them just to meet in the middle and see each other. This is something that I have experienced many times at airports in Miami and Cuba, families crying and hugging because they’re either saying goodbye and don’t know when they might see eachother again or they’re reuniting after so many years.
Lost, 2023, (3 x 3 x 3 feet), acrylic painting on found table
This is a found table that I painted on with acrylic paint of a lonely, floating man in the middle of the ocean. To me, he represents a person that doesn't belong here or there but, everywhere. Their home is fluid and expanded like the ocean.
Los vasos sagrados, 2022, (3 inch diameter each), acrylic and resin on glass
The sacred glasses are broken glasses with paintings of family members that are oceans apart. In my family’s religion, we keep a pedestal of glasses full of water for each person that has died in our family. The spirit is said to feed of the energy of the water, so we refill them every month. I recreated this homage with living people that are far from each other, using broken glasses to represent the broken connection and filled them with water.
No te oigo, 2023, phone fountain sculpture
No te oigo, translates to: I cannot hear you, this is a phrase that is often heard from one end of a phone call to Cuba. Our communication is limited and the internet is not very advanced. Many times, it sounds like the person speaking is under water. I used an old phone because most things in Cuba are from the 60’s and made water fountain with the phone.
Mi amigo fiel, 2023, acrylic painting on wooden chair
Mi amigo fiel translates to "my loyal friend" which is a lyric from a very well-know Cuban children's song. On this found chair, I painted the ocean/sky and placed a small paper boat on the edge. The reference is to the song about a child singing to a paper boat, referring to him as his loyal friend and asking him to take him around the world so he can meet new people, new lands and be free. He then sings, no more war, bring more peace, us children want to be happy and sing! This is ironic since kids back home have no peace, are malnourished and do not have the freedom to travel.
THE MOVING SERIES
Checked Baggage, 2021, (11" x 14"), acrylic on canvas
Checked Baggage is a small painting that was inspired by a conversation with some friends of mine. We spoke about how easy it was for us to move, we counted how many times each of us had moved. We counted between 12 and 15, we are both in our 20's. We shared the commonality that everything we owned was mobile and disposable because we are always ready to move. This gave me the notion that we were like luggage with legs and inside us we carried our homes everywhere.
I’m moving, 2021, (22" X 14" X 9"), acrylic painting on carry-on luggage
In this piece I started exploring painting objects with meaning, such as a carry on item. Continuing the same concept of taking our lives with us wherever we go, I painted life on to luggage.
I’m moving, 2022, (1:14 min replay), GIF video
This is a gif version of the former piece with legs and living organs, set at an airport. The compact human is being led by the luggage pick-up string.
Si me voy, me llevo mi casa conmigo, 2023, (2 X 3 feet), charcoal on paper
This quick drawing is the beginning of a new sculptural series I’d like to start working on of luggages with legs and entire cultures within them. This is the continuation of taking your life and your home with you wherever you go. The title translates to: If I go, I am taking my home with me.
LA CARIDAD DEL COBRE
La caridad el cobre (Our lady charity), 2022, digital collage and painting
This is a painting collage using photos and paintings made by myself. Cuba’s protector is our lady of charity, also known as La caridad del cobre, yet in the middle of Habana stands a government building with a dome made of pure gold meanwhile the rest of the city is in ruins and people are starving. I used the image of our lady with sarcasm and replaced her with the gold dome, then portrayed the poverty surrounding her and the three men who are said to have found her in the bottom right corner, actually sailing away from her in search of new lands and opportunities.
Medias res, 2020, (18” X 24”), mixed media
Medias res is a piece that I made during the beginning of the pandemic. The piece portrays three versions of myself in 2 worlds. The foreground being the US and the reflexion being Cuba. In the foreground you can see the fires, dead animals, the dead bodies of people who died with Covid being buried in the ground because there was no space in cemeteries. Meanwhile on the other side, the landscape of Habana is clear.
The first version of myself is the child dressed in a cuban uniform blinded by communism. Next to her stands a more mature version of myself, conscious of my ancestors and reaching out to save the third version of myself from the waters of Miami Beach that were crowded with people even during the pandemic. Against the glass, crashes a plane with its destination being Habana coming from Miami. At the time, all I wanted to do was be with my family but flight restrictions did not allow international travel.
Es Surreal, 2020, (18" x 24"), acrylic on canvas plus coins
This is a self portrait during my first heartbreak. The piece is inspired by The Two Fridas painting by Frida Kahlo. It takes place in modern day Cuba at el malecón de la habana and the two versions of myself look over to the horizon which in this case would be Florida.
El Morro, 2020, (60" x 48"), acrylic on foam board
This was a muted but realistic, commissioned painting of el Morro, a famous land mark of La Habana, Cuba.
Out of ideas, 2020, (14" x 12"), mixed media
This piece was made during the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak when all businesses were shut down and people were in isolation. I had to leave everything behind in San Francisco and return to Miami without any art supplies. I needed to paint and I only had a really old bottle of black and red acrylic. So I chopped up some chalk until it became powder and mixed it into toothpaste to create yellow paint. This piece is made of toothpaste, chalk, acrylics and black pen.
The Dream, 2018, (96" x 60"), acrylic on canvas
This is a painting reflecting on the idea of the American Dream for an immigrant's perspective.
Familiar Embrace
Two canvases combined to create a painting of a familiar embrace.
Markian's Eyes
Two canvases combined to create a painting of Markian's eyes.
Glimpse at our future
Glimpse at our future, 2018
A series of paintings
NO ONE CARES
Must be hard being a... , 2018
