Smile - Limited Edition 1 of 25 Photograph

Being raised in Puerto Rico, "La Isla del Encanto" (The Enchanted Island) and seasoned in "The Big Apple" sculpted the path of my multidisciplinary artistry. What began as a the fun of drawing, sketching and mapping floor plan inspired by my dad's engineering from an early age, led me to the University of Puerto Rico's School of Architecture in 1982. I attended a summer program at the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, Italy, an experience which planted the first seeds that would inspire the drive to embark on my artistic journey. In 1987 I moved to New York City as a transfer student , graduated from the Pratt Institute with a degree in Architecture and joined the renowned firm of architect I.M Pei. My experiences at these levels would soon bring the realization that I had little interest in the corporate aspects of architecture as a business Eventually I relocated to Miami to work at a smaller firm in Coconut Grove at the beginning of the South Beach cultural & social revival. I found a thriving and vibrant community, becoming friends with the late artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and fashion designer Thierry Mugler. This environment motivated a shift in direction of my creativity and self-expression. A chance-in-a-lifetime opportunity landed me on Bruce Weber’s Vogue Magazine’s 100-year anniversary editorial, a life-changing event that positioned me among the most reputable agencies in the modeling world. This opportunity of traveling and exposure brought forth that innate fascination with the human spirit and sparked my passionate artistic voice. By 1993 I was applying my sketching ability at a shared studio in Chelsea and became part of an alternative creative community vibrating outside the gallery and museum system, in the fashion and music subcultures, and the streets of New York. My artistic expression is a sensorial voice for the curiosity and fascination that I experience towards the human spirit, sociopolitical, and environmental issues. I love people and how we each operate accordingly to our individuality. My work has been exhibited extensively in prestigious galleries & museums such as the El Museo de las Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, The Parrish Museum in Southampton; the Gagosian Gallery, Conde Contemporary in Miami and the Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, which represented me and whose personal collection features some of my photographic work.