My name is Yukiyuel or Yuyu for short, and I'm a fine arts painter from the Bronx living in Brooklyn, NY.
My artwork is a unique style that comes from my experience with Art History, Street Art from NYC, and connecting to my Taino ancestors whose art is often left out of Art History. I've connected to Taino culture by studying it, visiting Puerto Rico and doing existential meditation— imagining what it would be like to be a Taino.
Using everything I've experienced and learned from, I tap into the mentality of being an "original person"— a meditative state that helps me connect what I want to express to the medium and the surface, starting from a state of openness.
My process begins with ballpoint pen drawings that break down figures into essential line forms and symbols. This goes back to my origins with art, making doodles while taking notes in class. Those are my most genuine creative moments just drawing freely to stimulate my mind and enjoy without pressure.
For this first series I am showing on my website, I am filling it with things that represent origins and beginnings. The series is called "The Portrait Series" which is the first thing I learned to draw and would draw for years since I was 9 years old. The portraits are not all of people. I am redefining "portrait" for this series to apply to the face of the chosen subject— both human and not human. This is a part of celebrating the liveliness of the world— full of faces beyond human.
Stars, the first cosmic creators, are my main motif— reflecting humanity's fascination with the stars. Other prominent symbols in my art are water drops (water the origin of biological life on Earth), hearts (the first sign of life in a baby, and representing love), and parabolas (in this series represent the motion that started the universe).
The chosen subjects are all significant to Nuyorican Culture and my own life. Pigeons, stray dogs, and coquis are animals that famously represent NYC or Puerto Rico. The Timberland boot is a classic NYC object. Portraits of women, nude women, and oneself have been a classic subject for most painters when studying art history. Still-lifes are also a classic subject so I include Quenepas— a treasured treat sold on the sides of highways in Puerto Rico. The sun and the coqui are both essential Taino Art symbols. The tiger logo is from tiger balm which I used to look at when my grandmother would get it in care packages from her brother in Puerto Rico.
I approach the drawing stage with the most potential— feeling as though I'm carving the piece into stone like the Tainos and other Aboriginal people did. Those drawings are on the drawing studies page. The paintings then come to life with schemes that play colors and shapes off each other to interact spiritually. Scroll down to see the series!
My work has been seen on the streets of New York City and in various local shows. Please message me using my contact page or at yukiyuel@yukiyuel.com with any questions, comments or requests.
