In this body of work, I use everyday paper towels to create works that exist somewhere in between painting, drawing, and sculpture. I hand stitch, exposing the latent pattern with a colorful thread palette, creating works that formally relate to minimalism, design, and abstraction.

Conceptually the work is a hybrid, drawing from a diverse set of interests including: a fascination with patterns, a love of everyday materials, a desire to engage my subconscious, and a belief that my personal narrative can be a vehicle to speak to larger issues, such as the marginalization of people of color in the United States. Drawing from my Mexican-American heritage for source material, I question what it means to make identity-based art, all while attempting to blur the boundaries between what is deemed masculine and feminine.

In the most recent work, once the pattern is complete, I add tiny black drawings. These drawings are often made on napkins in coffee shops or on scraps of paper at the office. The drawings remain intentionally small and monochromatic so that they reveal themselves subtly, like a memory. In this way, the abstraction is the primary focus. After looking closer, the viewer sees the drawing, and the abstraction gains metaphorical possibilities, transforming into something unexpected, like a forest. This reciprocal relationship between abstraction and representation is unified and yet disruptive. Each element is autonomous but gains from the other’s existence.