ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

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I am always pleasantly surprised as colors melt into one another, textures develop and an expression is formed by my manipulation of the materials. The image emerges from applying classical techniques resulting in a contemporary expression.

My portfolio reflects the places that I have lived and occupations that I fortunately have held. Experiencing the best of the soulful beauty and creating harmony with the textures of the harsh, gritty, and decaying abandonment.

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, I am privileged to be from a culture that is driven with tenacity and full of beauty, color, intellectuals, innovators, and music. This artistic life has been my guiding principle, my motivation and my survival.

Raised in the diversity of San Francisco's beauty from the mysterious, gray fog to crisp sunny days, was the scene of my upbringing. The ocean, the Bay, the valleys, mountains and giant redwood forests became my inspirational playground. My formative experiences of drawing, painting and printmaking were further developed at the Fort Mason Art Center, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the College of San Mateo under the direction of Joe Price.

Brilliant sunshine, vast panoramas, roaming clouds and dancing shadows inspired a spiritual awareness that makes up for the lack of color in the landscape of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I found myself being drawn back to live and work in this exotic desert several times. I taught computer graphics at the University of New Mexico,  honed my computer skills to integrate with my fine art and embarked on a new career of theater arts with my first production of La Boheme, which I designed, constructed and painted.

The lessons of surviving in New York City have matured me to levels I thought I could never reach. The textures of such a vibrant, urban, global city make you feel the hunger of dreams. The city inspires me to see, hear, feel and smell things that repulse and delight at the same time. I continued my formal training in art, drawing, painting, and printmaking at the Art Students League of New York, the Fashion Institute of Technology, The New School and Brooklyn College under the guidance of Allan D’Arcangelo and William T. Williams.

I had the privilege of collaborating with such artists as Lisa Zukowski and Sheila Goloborotko and collaborated as a printer for the Brooklyn College Press under the direction of Janet Carlile. I also designed and executed theatrical productions with Emmy Award winner, Mina Albergo.

I am fortunate to have my work in the permanent collections at the Brooklyn Historical Society,  The Brooklyn Museum, The Montclair Art Museum of New Jersey, The New York City Public Library and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  My work has been exhibited at Highlandtown Gallery, Baltimore, Visual Aid SOMArts, San Francisco, Caricula Gallery, New York, Printed Matter Gallery, New York City, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, Brooklyn, Kentler International Drawing Space, New York City.

I have been associated with the following prestigious companies; the Bel Canto Opera, New York City, John Drew Theater, East Hampton, NY, Marin Opera, Marin, CA, National Ballet of Caracas, Venezuela, and Palm Beach Opera, Florida, to name a few of the estimated 80 productions that I have been fortunate to participate in.

Presently, my journey in Baltimore is filled with history, diverse talent and camaraderie that makes a welcomed addition to my practice.  Completing my circle of being born on a bay, growing up on a bay, and now living on a bay.