Estella
Quinones

Born and raised in the Barrio of Spanish Harlem, the work presented for review is a reflective of the rich and graphic experiences of the street art, mark making, brushstroke, and fashion palette that is rooted in the beauty of my youth and culture.

My father was a professional chef. On days off, we would explore the local markets, parks, and museums of our neighborhood. All were filled with vibrant color. I remember flamboyantly dressed roller skaters dancing to the rhythm of a city and a people in motion. These whole and fragmented impressions that instilled a sense of wonderment of the world around me, are the earliest memories of my childhood and are the unconscious vibrations, acquired then, surfacing again and again in the work.

This fundamental early experience informed my sensibilities. For many years I observed my environment, and only began painting mid-career. In hindsight, the long gestation, based partly in fear, combined with a lack of formal training was a Godsend. Allowing my inner vision to filter, digest, and actualize the kaleidoscope of movement and color in the nurturing cocoon of memory.

All those years have jelled into a cohesive personal expression, enabling me to join harmony and chaos with dancing angles, sanctuary, and the abyss, transforming energy and light. The struggle to weld hand, arm, and mind, moving as one with the rhythms of the brush or my fingers, is the uninhibited expression of the fearless self, overcoming the blank slate, from the Light, through me, onto the canvas.