ARTIST'S STATEMENT

As a Black-Mexican artist, I draw inspiration from my personal history and experiences in Los Angeles to create my oil-painted portraits and ceramic vessels.

The paintings I create are characterized by fluidity and an urgency conveyed through bold brushstrokes, capturing my community in ways they are not often seen by the world. In each work, preliminary drawings and gesso subtly emerge beneath the layers of oil paint. This transparency in the process enables the emotional presence of the subject to resonate clearly. Within each painting, poetry can be discerned weaving throughout the canvas. I employ poetry as a means of showcasing human communication, more as a visual element than a textual one, inviting the viewer to feel its rhythmic marks without being overly concerned with legibility. 

These poetic expressions also find a home on ceramic vessels within my practice. The handcrafted vessels possess reflect on the contemporary while also conveying a timeless quality. Drawing inspiration from my personal history in Los Angeles, Italy, Japan, and Mexico, my choice of shapes and glazes create a historical foundation for the vessels. The glazes are fired in a gas kiln, bringing attention to the intricate markings both beneath and above the glaze surface. These solid, opaque gestures in ceramics symbolize life’s delicate balance between strength and fragility, a reflection of the human experience.