works by j. Carlos
Tonantzin 2020 - Oil on Canvas
My paintings explore the intersectionality of diaspora culture within America today and the vital ancestral stories resonating within the heart and soul. I create work that denotes the connections of cultural ephemera by responding to shared stories of navigating life and embodied trauma within the people I choose to paint.
The somatic experience of working and exploring pattern painting or magic realism manifests itself into a non-traditional narrative of portraiture and figurative works that build upon my own personal efforts in self-efficacy and resiliency practices. In a contemporary context, this process allows me to create work within the traditional role of portraiture as a representation of identity to recognize, build upon, and address the essential need for diversity and inclusion of inspirational people of color not represented and lacking within contemporary art today.
My creative works and paintings are a manifestation of intimacy and dialogue, as well as internal conversations that allow me to explore the concepts of healthy and personal spirituality and soul, and the character and virtues of the individual sitter through a multicultural lens of Indigeneity. My choices of color and composition express both a reflexive and the emotional response that occurs between the conversation and exchanges between myself and the figures within my creative works.
SikulI, Wood burning, Paddles & Gourds
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