De mí a ti

2026–present, in progress

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During my sabbatical, I spent four weeks in Puerto Rico. I am Puerto Rican and Cuban American, and I speak Spanish like a sophisticated 3-year-old, though I look like I should speak it fluently. That gap, and the discomfort and fear that came with it, stayed with me the whole time. But the experience was more than I could have imagined.

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I came with three intentions for my time in Puerto Rico: connect with my culture, gain more confidence in a language I am now committed to using, and start a new art project. On the island, I started asking people a simple question: ¿Quieres dibujar conmigo? Do you want to draw with me? Some people said yes. Each one chose an object or a place, and we drew it at the same time. There was no instruction and no expectation of skill. The drawing was a way for us to connect and share a moment. It was full of awkwardness, silence, connection, and time. With a few odd exceptions, I gave them my drawing, and they gave me theirs.

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Back in the studio, I am making paintings from photographs of our drawings and an image I took near the place where we drew. Each painting is titled for the person and the place. The drawings are proof that two people looked at the same thing and tried. The paintings are about my continued irrational optimism that I can share this moment and the complex dynamics of the political, personal, and cultural, in a material.

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This work is in development. New paintings will be added as they are finished.