These trailblazing artists from Argentina, to Cuba, to Peru and beyond have used their creative journeys to spark change and break the barriers that defined their time. Get to know these Latin-American artists a little better and how they have impacted the modern art world.
Photography by Jordan Carter
The star motif has become Destiny’s iconic artistic signature which she describes as “symbolic of the light that exists in Black people that refuses to be dimmed.” Through her thoughtful and colorful large-scale oil paintings, Destiny highlights Black folk in community with one another, centered around the idea of hope as an act of resistance against oppressive systems in America. Destiny’s work not only honors the resiliency of her ancestors who came before her, but serves as a beacon of hope in the midst of the work that is still left to be done.
Photography by Nabila Wirakusumah
Rossana Romero is a prime example of what it means to be an artist. Not afraid to use her art to speak on topics such as colonialism and historical trauma, while creating a path to healing through her work that carves new, imaginative ways of being that ignite hope, resilience, self actualization, and self empowerment. Her preferred artistic mediums inspired by magic realism, are beautifully vibrant oil paintings of fantasy landscapes referencing the lush terrains of the Amazon featuring her iconic animal motifs which she also molds into textured paper mâché sculptures and frames.
Photography by Dana White
Nada Esmaeel’s work is alive and vibrant, rich in detail and color. In addition to paintings, illustrations and animations, she has also designed 3D gaming environments where woven rugs hang from the walls and colored lanterns are strung across an intimate courtyard. But in each of these varied mediums, the subject is almost always Palestinian people and their culture.
Photography & Intro by Nabila Wirakusumah
When I first came across Kaarina Chu Mackenzie’s Night Market series, I could hear the chatter of crowds, the slapping of fish on butcher blocks and the thin but pervasive buzz of fluorescent bulbs illuminating each stand. I could smell the smoke wafting from the open grills and the sweet scent of batter cooking in cast iron. The paintings were depicting markets in Taiwan and China, but I’ve walked through similar scenes in Thailand and Indonesia.
Photography by Nabila Wirakusumah
As soon as we arrived at Audrey Lyall’s studio in Brooklyn and she greeted us, her one-of-a kind creative eye could already be captured with her style. She embodies the confidence and vibrant energy of the maximalist subjects found in her artwork. Audrey uses a variety of materials such as acrylic paint, watercolor, clay, fabric, collaged paper, and more to create maximalist Afro-futurist works. To Audrey, “everything in the world is an art material”
About a year ago, Elise Swopes graciously invited SHEER to her Sunrise Art Club event at Seed Brklyn during Brooklyn NFT Week. Elise had already secured her status as a widely successful photographer and NFT artist selling over $200,000 worth of digital art. Elise is more than just her successes and industry impact. She also gets personal with us about her upbringing, her time as a rapper in Chicago, overcoming addiction struggles, and healing her inner world through self-exploration.
Emerging filmmaker and multi-hyphenate creative, LaChelle Chrysanne just debuted her powerful short film, "One of The Guys", drawing on inspiration from her personal experiences in the indie music scene and platonic friendships with the opposite sex. Chrysanne's thought-provoking film sparks essential conversations surrounding consent and complicity.
By Tiara Starks
Chung is a Peabody-award winning filmmaker with projects such as Plague at the Golden Gate for American Experience; Asian Americans for PBS. She also owns post-production facility Leading Flash Cuts with Walt Louie. Chung speaks about her experiences as an Asian-American independent filmmaker, navigating the industry, and how other WOC can do so too.
Ren Whaleboat is an Indigenous artist based in Sydney, Australia with both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander roots. Ren’s preferred medium is realism charcoal with contrasting line work portraiture resulting in breathtaking canvases that celebrate diverse features by precisely capturing every detail of the human face and body.
Photography by Nabila Wirakusumah
I first stumbled across Nia Winslow’s work, totally by accident, and there was a piece titled “Secret Keeper” which I couldn’t believe was entirely paper because of the intricacies and detailing of the bobos and barrettes that took me back to my childhood. While digging deeper into her catalog I was shocked to realize her art is entirely collage and paper-based. The level of detail and intention behind her work is so incredibly impressive and even more so once I learned she was self-taught and only started making art in 2019!! Nia’s collages connect the Black and African diaspora by portraying our shared experiences from the seemingly mundane to the more poetic while simultaneously using unique strips of paper to also highlight we are not a monolith and to honor our diverse range of cultures.