RI Latinx Artists Network (RILAN)

I’m a surrealist Puertorican artist. I enjoy painting dreamlike paintings that evoke positive emotions and tell stories. My favorite mediums to use are acrylic and oil paint, as well as charcoal because when I draw with it, it feels like painting. The paintings I create are vibrant and saturated with color. I am inspired by both surrealist and impressionist artists for the ideas they communicated and the emotions they expressed in their art. Art helps me navigate life.

When thinking about Fronteras, I think about the vision I have for my art career and the journeys I take to get to where I want to be.

The theme of Borders/Fronteras resonated with me on a deeply personal level. I interpreted it as the boundary between life and the transition to the afterlife.

The images I am presenting are of my 96-year-old grandmother. I wanted to capture her still being herself in her own home while also highlighting how relatable this stage of life is.

En este arte, utilice pintura acrílica para darle vida a mi visión.
Representando en armonía y varios colores, las diferencias socioculturales de latinoamericana en estados unidos fuera de las "fronteras" que nos separan.

Porque sin importar las diferentes barreras: territoriales, culturales y religiosas, somos todos iguales cuando compartimos un mismo sueño.

………………..

In this work of art, I used acrylic paint to bring my vision to life.

Through harmony and various colors, it represents the sociocultural differences of Latin Americans in the United States beyond the "borders" that separate us.

Because, regardless of the different barriers—territorial, cultural, and religious—we are all the same when we share the same dream.

Both paintings are self portraits and deal with my mental dislike for myself and the borders and walls I put up so no one knows me on a personal level or hurts me more than I already have self hurt myself.

Yuck! represents my young self and my teenage years. Smile (Autodesprecio) deals with the older me and how I'm always being told to smile, especially when posing for a picture. They represent the insecurities and dislike/discomfort I have for myself.

El Paso, Texas, where I grew up, shares a border with Mexico, like other Southwestern states such as Arizona, California, and New Mexico. Many residents frequently move between the two countries, living at the intersection of two cultures. In El Paso, these cultures have blended into one.

I took this photo while standing in a quiet neighborhood near the border highway in El Paso. The large red "X" you see across the border is in Ciudad Juárez, México. To me, this view symbolizes the story of two cities and two countries, but not necessarily two different ways of life.

La Equis represents the convergence of these cultures. It reminds me that in border cities like El Paso and Juárez, people's lives intersect daily, erasing any sense of division. While the Wall physically separates the two countries, it cannot undo the unity symbolized by La Equis.

NOTE: This photograph has an accompanying video that can be viewed on location, at La Galería del Pueblo.

I am a Latiné Rhode Island public artist. The ability to absorb and feel the environment around the area where my art will be located has become a tradition within my creations, as has the storytelling behind the artwork itself. Most of my work is figurative surrealism art, although my work is very diverse in style and is based on a particular project goal and mission.

As an artist whose parents are both immigrants I could not resist but to apply for this call, and the ability to represent my family and ancestors. It also represents my friends and loved ones who have also experienced crossing borders with
their family.

Shadow Morales is a proud Oaxaqueño, hard-worker, and my tio. Being an artist is the very last thing he would consider himself. His art takes on influences from his Mexican heritage and the Chicano culture he was surrounded with when he arrived in this country in the 1980s. To Latinos, success is defined through an education or by hustling.

Naturally, it is hard for them to see any value in the art they may
unknowingly create. In 2013, my Tio Shadow dedicated two pieces to Chuko, my father. 11 years unnoticed - I wanted to show people his talent at the Border|Frontera exhibition.

Fronteras separate land, people, and families and break our histories. To me, Shadow's art is an example of resistance. As you can see, his art takes inspiration from the cultural aspects of Mexicans and Chicanos.

Through my creativity, I want to emphasize the beauty my culture has highlighted, especially in its connection to nature and the importance of preserving it.

The theme of Borders and Fronteras inspired me to create and submit this piece—a metal orchid made from scrap metal. The orchid holds deep significance for both my family and Colombian culture.

The way the sculpture reflects light reminds me of the importance of holding onto core values. It reflects the resilience of metal while also symbolizing the delicate nature of an orchid, which requires care to thrive. Yet, when in its natural habitat, it can flourish beautifully.

When I think of the word Fronteras, I think of the border that separates the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The ascending Dove with a bright sun rise represents a new day, filled with hope, light and goodness. The hands are symbol of two diverse countries coming together, and putting differences aside. The flowers and greenery present growth, celebration of life, despite all the dark history. At the bottom are barbwires, blood drops, tangled by past roots.

Growing up in the D.R I always heard the only thing that divides both countries, is barbwires. I hope someday to visit our Neighbor country, Haiti.

I created this to represent a dream I’ve always had, for both countries to live in peace and be an example to other countries.

I constantly reflect on Banksy's phrase, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” I disagree.

Anytime I go into a project, I look for the challenge. A never-ending phase of experimentation for a subsequent project where I will ultimately do the same. I reach for another planet so I may land on stars (poetic).

With so, when producing art, I solely disturb. It is a matter of comforting the disturbance. Regaining control of it so it becomes presentable. At the end, the disturbance of each piece will live with me, and I find comfort at the slight chance the next process will be clean and direct to the point – I hope it doesn’t.
In this piece, I aimed at comforting the disturbance of missing home by capturing it in abstraction. You now fulfill it with your own homesickness. Let me keep some of mine.

My work typically consists of spray paint and stencils on canvas, as well as block printing and design. The theme Borders/Fronteras was a difficult theme for me to embrace. It spent months thinking about what I would do.

Whenever I thought about the idea of “borders,” I kept thinking about birds. Birds have no sense of borders or separation amongst towns, states, countries, or even continents. Birds travel all over the place at will, experiencing the world as one large expansive destination. Birds don’t have any sense of borders, they simply just accept Earth as their home.

I am a visual artist, designer and muralist based in Rhode Island. My style is flexible and may change based on the demands of each individual project. For instance my mural work can be described as bold, playful or colorful.

Meanwhile, my canvas paintings give me the opportunity to be more painterly with brushy line quality and more abstract.

When I contemplate the theme “Fronteras”, I think of the borders crossed by millions in search of a better life. Both my parents were originally from the Dominican Republic and had their fair share of borders.