Artist Statement:
A blank space…page…paper…canvas…wall – nothing but a pre-determined area that lies silent and empty. I stand before it compelled to bring it to life. Creating something that has not been seen and saying something that has not been said. Spoken with the language of lines, space, color, light and texture. Determining their direction while allowing for their synergy, a composition evolves and something abstract becomes real. Creativity is allowing for mistakes; art is knowing which to keep.
Bio:
Sept 1, 1961…put on a plane along with my older brother and sent to the U.S. at the age of five as Castro and his revolution turned our life and Cuba upside down. Despite all that was left behind, we were fortunate to be “free” in America and I quickly adopted its culture, becoming an all-American, Jersey kid living in the shadows of the Big Apple. My passion for sports was only matched by my creative spirit, forever doodling and capturing the sentiment of the times with drawings that reflected the colorful 60’s. I went to college on a basketball scholarship to major in psychology but soon chose a different path and while transferring schools, decided to major in art. Museums and galleries replaced playgrounds and gymnasiums and Picasso and Cezanne grew as large as Mantle and West.
I attended Jersey City State College for two years and got a job with a large manufacturer of products for the graphic arts industry where I learned the offset printing trade ( i.e. typography, design, color separations). At night I attended the NYC School of Visual Arts where I further explored the commercial and creative side of the graphics arts.
In 1980, I opened “Studio 45”, a graphic design studio serving the community with logos and advertisements while occasionally finding the time and freedom to proucuce an abstract painting…ahhh – the uninhibited joy!
Surviving the blur of the 80’s and in dire need of a change, my girlfriend and I decided to marry and head to the west coast. Settling in L.A., I worked as a graphic designer for several sportswear manufacturers whose clients included Disney, Universal Studios and the Vegas casinos. In addition, I attended UCLA for a computer graphics certificate as Apple and technology revolutionized the art world.
In 1990, a fellow art director and I ventured on our own and founded “Socratees”, a high end line of imprinted T-shirts and apparel that sold to department stores throughout the states and Japan. By the turn of the century, the business and partnership had run its course and a turn of events lead us back to the east coast and Northern Virginia where I re-invented myself by becoming a faux painter and embarked on a new business venture, “Details Painting Company”. Working with new materials, textures and color upon walls provided me with renewed inspiration that led to innovative applications and expressions on paper and canvas…ahhhh – the uninhibited joy!