Raelis Vasquez

Bio: Raelis Vasquez is a visual artist born in the Dominican Republic and based in New York City. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018. Raelis has exhibited at El Museo Del Barrio, NY; Kunstraum Potsdam; Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles; amongst others. He is in the permanent collection at Pérez Art Museum Miami and numerous private collections.

www.raelisvasquez.com
Instagram: @raelis

Thesis Exhibition

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Artist Statement: The Dominican Republic acts as a backdrop to my entire practice. Using my cultural upbringing as fuel, my paintings address subjects with tenderness and intimacy to draw viewers into the figures I depict. I choose quiet moments often brought to life by a vibrant palette, composition, and energetic mark-making. I often depict my immediate family, and as a result, my paintings have become a thoughtful exploration into my own identity as an immigrant, Caribbean, and painter. The intellectual and emotional investment that I have with these investigations drives my work as I attempt to explore the disruptive experience of immigration and unveil the present silences of family and societal life. Ultimately, my paintings uncover an identity as layered and complex as the many snapshots I paint from.

L to R: Elis y Ramon, (48" x 48," Oil and acrylic on canvas, 2020); Dos Mil Dos, 60" x 60," Oil and acrylic on canvas, 2021); Meat and Potatoes, (60" x 48," Oil and acrylic on canvas, 2021); Sombra, (60" x 40," Oil and acrylic on canvas, 2020)

First Year Exhibition

Khari Turner

Yuri Yuan