Raelis Vasquez

(b. 1995, Mao Valverde, Dominican Republic)

Vasquez draws on historical, political and personal narratives. His paintings are figurative compositions that conjure the complexity of the Afro-Latinx experience. The figures in Vasquez's work inhabit a state of vulnerability that often encourages the viewer to question their positions on class, race, and geography. He immigrated to the United States in 2002 from the Dominican Republic. Vasquez feels an overpowering responsibility to the arts and towards his Black, Latinx, and immigrant communities. Vasquez’s paintings capture the historical and political narratives of his subjects while highlighting their emotional and personal narratives as well. The work ranges from traditional portraiture to contemporary genre scenes that represent people of color with multiple identities such as black, immigrant, mulatto, Afro-Latinx, and Latinx, all pressing against traditional concepts of what it means to be American.

Vasquez received a BFA from The School of the Art Insitute of Chicago in 2018 and an MFA from Columbia University in 2021. His work has been exhibited at El Museo del Barrio, New York and San Francisco Art Institute, CA. Vasquez work is included in the permanent collection of the Perez Art Museum Miami, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and The Newark Museum or Art, New Jersey.