OSMELI DELGADO

Self-knowledge has been liberating on a personal level. Searching for a deeper identity has been a constant and the most important learning experience in this journey stemmed from deciding to immigrate. Withdrawing from my place of birth, loved ones and native language was, emotionally and physically, quite challenging. Feeling lost was a struggle. However, the tendency to search for a deeper identity has proven to be vital in my pursuit of resiliency.

Intuitively exploring my creative sense through meditation, the anatomical heart served as a source of inquiry and inspiration. The development of a whole body of work based on the heart in different mediums and materials including painting, sculpture and prints ensued. Each piece was an expression of what I was internally experiencing as an immigrant. The experience allowed me to become an observer of my own process of change and adaptation. Consequently, this is what I aim through my art, to invite the viewer to become a proactive observer of his or her own life in order to spur self-reflection.

Currently, my work has evolved to a more abstract expression. With a background in architecture, the obsession with detail and composition are always present in my work. There is an intrinsic need in me to seek to incorporate the element of three-dimensionality in my paintings and generate the sensation of movement. This reflects the constant flow of life, the unstoppable vibration of each heartbeat in our body and in everything that is around us.