About the Show

Thank you for reading this. 

I moved to NYC on July 20th, 2016, mere months after Santurce, Puerto Rico, helped me burst into the painter I might still be today. NYC brought a lot of things I did not expect. And I always wondered if I'd be more of a Caribbean artist had I lived back there... back home. Instead of here, working to make it my home. I guess you could say "Are You Sure?" is a retrospective on the last 9 years of my life.

As a New York City-born, Puerto Rico-raised, Dominican woman living in Brooklyn, identity is something I've grappled with. Being from many places sometimes feels like being from nowhere. And it turns out belonging is essential to me. Or at least feeling like I do. And the thing is that I don't most of the time... Then when I do, I'm haunted by the thought that not belonging is greater than me... that maybe we, as a species, don't belong in this world. Because everything we humans create, everything we deem knowledge, and progress, and the things, things, things, we are proud of ultimately damage and pollute the world we live in, or use tools that do. I think about this often. So what's a visual artist to do? I put it all out there in color. And I've made it my mission to create wearable, useful, or decorative art out of otherwise wasteful materials. I mainly use cardboard. And I aim to one day be 100% waste-free. 

If that felt like far reaching, welcome to my mind. 

Now, the title for this show... I'd love to know what you think about it. So don't forget before you read on. 

"Are You Sure?" is a question that always irked an important person who was with me through most of this retrospective's span. And I would ask it, and I would ask it, and I would ask it. It was in the little things of our days. I never meant to irritate, I just had it in my head about everything. Because the thing is, I'm not sure about anything.

Or better yet, I'm only really sure of one thing.

How about you?