Balance, But Make It Chic

Year: Fall 2024
Dimensions: 16x20x1.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic and Oil Pastels on canvas

Artist Description of Work:
Balance, but Make it Chic is an abstract portrait that explores the layered experience of identity—the inner dialogue women hold privately, and the curated selves they present to the world. Through symbolic elements and stylized gesture, this painting reflects the friction between authenticity and expectation: chandelier earrings bearing the “evil eye” gesture toward protection, while the fruit basket—a bright abundance of lemons—nods both to heritage and performance. Her eyes are smudged out in expressive color, her lips carefully painted, her hands posed with an elegance that may be intentional—or performative. As a first-generation Cuban-American, I often find myself negotiating identity on multiple fronts—woman, artist, daughter of immigrants, American, Latina. This painting embodies that tension: the quiet, constant calibration of how much to reveal and how much to contain. In this portrait, the viewer is invited to consider: Who is she? The woman performing? The woman resisting? Or someone in the quiet middle-adjusting the mask, holding space for both?