Premio Combat Prize

I was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In 2008, I started undegraduate studies in Psychology and Fine Arts at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science. I developed my first artwork titled “Invidentes” (Blind People) in 2012. It opened the door to showcase my artwork in collective art exhibitions throughout Puerto Rico. As a result, I was selected to create the representative artwork for the Second Biennial Art Exhibition hosted by the town of Ponce*. I was also the spokeperson who accepted the Second Biennal Art Exhibition Proclamation from the Mayor of Ponce. In partnership with the Ponce Museum of Art, I did a research project that integrated the fields of psychology and arts. Currently, I am a PhD psychology student at Ponce Health Sciences University, where I continue to integrate pshycology and the arts in my academic projects. My artwork style gets its own identity and inspiration from everyday experiences. Through it, I convey the fragility of the human existence in a caotic and alienating metropolis. At the same time, I reveal the oppression and seek to wake up the consciences on matters such as socio-cultural deterioration. My style is shaped by the use of wood, acrylic, oil, plaster, filler and grinded magazine pages. Grinded magazine pages communicate the social construction in the context of our lives. In my artworks, the multicultural faces, the woman and the family are in charge of expressing our emotional, physical and cultural circumstances. Consequently, I explore the importance of human relations and the impact in our coexistence.“Varona”, the artwork submitted for the competition, has the woman as the center and protagonist in a socio- cultural context theme. The form, textures and colors provide a new meaning of the skin and body marks of domestic violence. They are presented as a symbol of dignity and liberation of the woman. The collage is shown as symbol of the evil of domestic violence in the Society and how it is fed by the Media. *Artwork in supportCollective Exhibitions:• 2012 “Encuentro 490” (Encounter 490), Biblioteca PUCPR, (PCUPR Library) • 2012 “Mi regalo al Rey” (Mi Gift to the King), Igl. Bautista de Almacigo (Almacigo Baptist Church), Yauco, PR• 2013 “Segunda Bienal Municipal de Arte” (Second Biennal Art Exhibition) , Biblioteca Municipal (Ponce Public Library) , Ponce, PR. • 2013 “360°”, Antigua Casa Alcaldía (Old Mayor’s House), Carolina, PR. • 2013 “Bienal de arte sacro; Sacro Contemporáneo” (Biennal of Gospel Art), Museo Histórico (History Museum), Coamo, PR.• 2013 “Noches de galería” (Art Gallery Nights), Alcaldía de Ponce (Ponce Mayor’s House), Ponce, PR.• 2014-2015 Ponce Colores Gallery, Ponce, PR.• 2015 “Tercera Bienal Municipal de Arte” (Third Biennal of Art), Biblioteca Municipal (Ponce Public Library), Ponce, PR.• 2015 “Entre lienzos y esculturas, vivimos el Carnaval” (Living the Carnival among Canvas and Sculptures), Alcaldía de Ponce (Ponce Mayor’s House), Ponce, PR.Individual Exhibitions:• 2012 “Invidentes” (Blind People), Biblioteca PUCPR (PCUPR Library), Ponce, PR.• 2015 “Cotidiano” (Everyday), Biblioteca Municipal (Ponce Public Library), Ponce, PR.