Juan Travieso (born Havana, Cuba 1987), is an artist based in Miami and New York. His work explores notions of impermanence and decay through a combined language of pop, realism, and abstraction. Figures, be them humans or animals, are broken up into spaces and forms much like 3D models, speaking to both their temporality and transition into the digital age. Juan’s exhibited in seven different Art Museums nationwide. These include exhibitions at the Ft Lauderdale Museum, Orlando Museum, MOAH, Honolulu Museum Art School, Cornell Museum, Berkshire Museum, and Naples Museum of Art. Travieso transposes his work on endangered animal species with works relating to his own childhood and experiences growing up in Cuba. What were before abstractions interacting with disappearing animals, are now figures of disappearing and transforming ideologies and culture. His paintings involve images ranging from Soviet propaganda and cartoons, to the iconic figures of the Cuban revolution. Woven inside is the personal and how these personal and cultural icons are in constant conflict and transformation. Ambitious and daring are qualities in the very flesh of his work. Travieso is a dynamic maker he approaches painting with great appetite and produces a feast for the eyes and mind. His work brings together important historical moments and with totally free will his comments are uncensored on society and art. Juan Travieso is a graduate of New World School of the Arts in Miami Florida, and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California. Most recently he received a Masters of Fine Arts from The Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston. He has had numerous exhibitions in New York, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, as well as internationally. His work is included in multiple collections throughout the United States and other parts of the world.
“As a creative I am always a work in progress. I am never satisfied and am always looking to reach new heights in technique and approach. Creating images from scratch and making them successful is a very time laborious and difficult task. I have failed so many times as a creative to make successful paintings that it would almost be odd to create one that seems ‘perfect’. My quest for this possibility continues but I truly believe that I learn the most and grow the most through experiencing failure. It keeps painting interesting.” – Juan Travieso (The People’s Print Shop)
