Featured Artist Juan Carlos Cepeda

Colombian artist Juan Carlos Cepeda shares a collection of bold figurative paintings drawn from his life experience and culture. View more work on his website.

 

 

Art helps me share the story of my life. My work allows others to experience what I have endured and surrendered thus far throughout my life journey, growing up in a less than favorable environment.

 

 

Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, I never felt whole. I craved an outlet to express myself. I was fortunate to have inherited my artistic ability from my parents, who encouraged me to follow my dreams.

 

 

You could say art runs through my veins. As I grew older, the best way for me to communicate was through art that showed how I was internally experiencing the world.

 

 

Inspired by my life and my culture, my art modernized itself, evolving as I did.

 

 

I experienced many hardships, but was surrounded by an environment abundant in nature’s beauty and foliage. This inspired me to create my own technique, fragmenting the rules of art and remodeling it into a unique, modern perspective.

 

 

As a youth, I began to learn more about my artistic nature. I dabbled in retouching the photographs of a well known photographer. This taste of creativity pushed me to evolve. It fulfilled the need to express myself as an escape from my reality.

 

 

I began to learn about different artistic movements such as Hyperrealism, Figuration, Expressionism and Surrealism. Each technique’s degree of difficulty urged me to learn more and polish my craft. Ultimately I pushed myself beyond my artistic boundaries to a whole other level.

 

 

I use a mixture of materials on canvases. My cultural roots transform ancestral traits, movements and customs into a new technique of modernization that reflects a message of life.

 

 

Although I am self-taught, my work has been exhibited since I was the young age of twenty-five. My talents have been embraced and I have rapidly gained international recognition for my works. I’ve had the pleasure of exhibiting in the United States, Mexico, Panama, India, Singapore, Dominican Republic, Bombay, London and Australia.

 

 

It has been beyond gratifying to express my voice through my artwork. My ability to immortalize my culture through art has always been important to me. My culture has survived as I have. I strive to continue to emphasize the importance of remembering and reviving history while still being a part of it.

 

Juan Carlos Cepeda invites you to follow him on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

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