My work intersects psychology with colorful modernisms, while traditional art techniques create a museum of experiences that unfold into a self-defined style known as “bleutrash.” I explore the innate need to question through my own life, seeking to answer human curiosities. How does a bipolar, queer, Indigenous Mexican-American exist here and now? The works delves into both the conscious and subconscious through portraiture and self-portraiture, revealing the darker aspects of the mind that often make us uncomfortable. Feelings, emotions, and experiences are emphasized through color, while expressionistic mark-making and rendering are designed to capture essences of life.
I am an interdisciplinary artist; however, I consider myself a painter at heart. My practice is visually dynamic, reflecting physical and mental worlds that humans are capable of building. The work is created using traditional art processes, such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. The fusion of these mediums are selective, but no uncommon. Oil paint and acrylics are foundations of the work, while soft pastels, charcoal, and graphite emerge naturally. Alternative substrates and visual performances allow for an ephemeral experience of bleutrash. I draw from a roledex of influences, most notably, intricate Italian Renaissance oil paintings and ancient Mesoamerican sculptures. Bleutrash incorporates personal experience ranging from unnatural behavior processes such as coping mechanisms in abusive relationships to cultural and societal norms in Hispanic households. Literature, history, politics, and culture inform bleutrash compositions and provide the framework of the practice. Processes of contact, absorption, and transformation happen continuously, resulting in bleutrash.
What is a human anyway?
