Bolivar Bolivita Acrylic and collage on canvas 48” x 36”
Con Real y Medio Acrylic, ink and chimo on canvas 48” x 36”
Cruce de Agua Acrylic and ink on canvas 48” x 36”
The Guardian Acrylic, pastel and ink on canvas 72" x 72"
El Enchufado Acrylic and collage on canvas 48” x 36”
Mercedes Acrylic and pastel on canvas 48” x 36”
A way back to grace Acrylic and pastel on canvas 48” x 36”
As we watch them walk by Acrylic on canvas 48” x 36”
The Bully Acrylic and pastel on canvas 48” x 36”
Moonlight Visitations Acrylic and pastel on canvas 48” x 36”
Te Quiero Acrylic on canvas 52" x 52"
The Brutality of the Senses Acrylic and ink on canvas 48” x 36”
The Labyrinth Acrylic on canvas 48” x 36”
Como Me Saco Esto de Adentro / How Do I Get This Off My ChestThis series is an exploration of what it means to belong to a place that is being dismantled and transformed in your absence. Although I was born in Brooklyn and have family roots in Panama, my cultural identity was shaped during the years I spent growing up in Caracas. I moved to New York in 1992, when Venezuela was still a stable and prosperous nation. I never expected that the country that gave me the best years of my life would eventually become a place of such instability.
Since the mid-2000s, I have watched from a distance as Venezuela has experienced rapid political collapse. Seeing eight million people forced to leave due to hunger and political agendas created a heavy weight of anger and desperation in me. Como Me Saco Esto de Adentro is my way of handling the feeling of being left without the nation I once knew. It is an attempt to process the disconnect of identifying with a home that is changing so quickly, without me there.
In these paintings, I used art as a refuge. I leaned into the textures and themes of Venezuelan culture, music, folktales, and politics to reclaim my history, while also taking a stance against the criminal acts Venezuelans have had to endure.