Statement

Identity is not built in isolation but in relation to others, in a constant exchange of recognition and expectation. I am interested in exploring how, in this process, idealization and the construction of heroic figures emerge as a response to individual and collective demands. From childhood, the need to embody a role within a social structure generates projections that oscillate between admiration and the burden of expectations, revealing the tension between the constructed image and the reality of the individual.

 

From this perspective, I am interested in exploring the duality between personal fantasy and the construction of the idol or idealization, reflecting on how individual expectations shape the figure of the “hero.” While I draw on images of iconic figures, I also bring this exploration into the everyday, where heroism dissolves into adults who, in essence, are still children trying to understand themselves within imposed social expectations. I do not seek to condemn these processes or make moral judgments, but rather to acknowledge a collective need to explore the relationship with oneself and with others, questioning the construction of identities and the mechanisms of projection.

 

The social work I engaged in as a lawyer sparked my interest in alterity and the ways in wich we define ourselves in relation to others. My references include both the use of metaphor in art history and contemporary practices of appropriation and reinterpretation. Additionally, my background in law introduces an analytical component that leads me to examine the conceptual boundaries of the image and its meaning in different contexts. In my project Negro Pastel, I portray idols from the perspective of those who idealize them, delving into the individual and collective expectations that construct them as such, but also into their humanity. Within this series, the representation of children expands this reflection, exploring how identity is shaped in relation to those around them from an early age. Similarly, in Servilletas, I create portraits on paper napkins, exploring the notion of ephemerality and the symbolic role played by the represented characters.

 

My pictorial production does not pursue decorative purposes. I am interested in exploring the scope of the medium, both in its aqueous and greasy qualities, as well as the purely aesthetic elements of color, light, line, and form. I work with oil paint in a dense, textured impasto that allows me to challenge the genre of portraiture, moving it away from banality. However, my practice is not limited to a single medium; the technical choice always responds to the conceptual intention of each project, allowing me to build a diverse and constantly evolving body of work.