Exhibitions | Rafael Barros

Barros’ exhibit reflects on the artist’s early years in Colombia. The introspective works, which serve as a form of therapy for Barros, feature easily recognizable household objects and toys, juxtaposed with themes of social injustice, corruption, and violence. The bright iconographic style used to paint these nostalgic objects is meant to draw in onlookers, inviting them to consider the experience of a child growing up in an environment that is rife with lawlessness and unrest.

Note: This exhibition finished hanging on October 19, 2019.

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Rafael Barros

Miami, Florida

The foundation of my work can be traced to my early childhood.  My work is the result of the need to express my cheerful, humorous, sarcastic, extroverted personality typical of Caribbean coast where I was born in Colombia. Because of health issues (among them asthma) I discovered that working with acrylics did not seem to affect me in a negative way, so I use it in combination with several different techniches  always looking for minutiae details and an aesthetic quality evoking the Northern Renaissance. What intrigue me the most were the issues related to the ecosystem and the damage that has been done to it. These ideas and issues came by as the result of the education I was given to by the schools and government institutions in Colombia. I participated in competitions where I received numerous award and encouragement to pursued my artistic vision I grew up surrounded by violence, war, drug trafficking, the native looting, excessive craving for power, social injustice, ecclesiastical corruption. The culmination of all of these issues was the assassination of my father. All of these issues created a particular perception of reality for me, and my artistic approach to those became the force that allowed me to grow and create beyond the hardships of my early development years.

Artist Website