ESTUDIO DE CASO (CASE STUDY)

La Vitrina 125 Ave. Jose de Diego, Arecibo, Puerto Rico

On View December 11, 2023- January 28, 2024

My work seeks to record and investigate the overlooked aspects of Puerto Rico's present-day urban environment. These areas, shapes, and patterns reveal parts of our collective psyche throughout Puerto Rico’s colonial history.

In Estudio de Caso, I examine the vernacular middle-class homes that were constructed in Puerto Rican urban areas from the 1950’s through 1970’s. This type of housing emerged during a period of modernization on the island, which began when the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's new constitution was implemented (1952). Following the Great Depression and the dominance of the sugarcane monoculture, the economy and morale of the island were severely impacted. However, with the emergence of urban-centered modern industries, the island began to see the development of an urban sprawl and the creation of a new identity. We endeavored to replicate the American Dream by constructing single-family homes in newly developed urban areas, equipping them with automobiles, and building highways. During that era, there was a surge in the production and design of local architectural elements in Puerto Rico, including hydraulic tiles, breezeblocks, and ironworks. Unfortunately, these elements are no longer widely produced today, thanks to the dominance of large corporations like Home Depot and Ikea, which have contributed to a homogenization of our unique vernacular aesthetic.

This typology of house evokes memories of our grandmothers’ house, which today are typically left vacant and neglected. This is largely due to the migration waves to the US that resulted from various factors such as scarce job opportunities, the passing of elders, hereditary issues, and disintegrating families. Through my paintings, I contemplate how these houses embody the values and ideals of Puerto Rico during that time and how they have created a timeless vernacular aesthetic that is gradually disappearing. My work are objects that explore materiality, process, formalism and aesthetics, foundations that are paramount to my own development as an artist and creator.