My artwork honors the sacrifices and celebrates the accomplishments of my grandparents and parents, refugees who migrated globally, settling and creating communities with mixed traditions. As the granddaughter of North Korean refugees on my mother’s side and a Franco Spanish refugee grandfather on my father’s side, I come from a long line of ancestors who fled from persecution. My parents came to the US undocumented to flee military dictatorships in Uruguay (my father) and Argentina (my Korean-born mother). My paintings reflect this multi-layered, complex family history of tragedy and triumph, which has instilled in me a sense of the fragile nature of life. Therefore, I paint ordinary plants, figures, and conventional objects as vibrant, colorful, and patterned scenes to show the beauty and joy in everyday occurrences and objects that are often taken for granted.
