Erick Maldonado
Recently, I have been examining decolonization methods related to race and gender, questioning how imperialism and late-stage capitalism impact the working class and marginalized communities. This exploration extends into the concept of community spaces where identity and resilience are continuously constructed and contested. Through bold colors, mixed media, and collage, I create scenes that challenge conventional representational spaces, embracing the flamboyant language, fashion, and mannerisms of my circle. Each composition serves as an abstracted metaphor for resilience, reclaiming space and narrating the conditions of our survival within structures of power. Moving forward, I plan to continue allowing materiality and textiles to be the driving vehicle to the way I make a mark.
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Erick Maldonado is a Massachusetts-based, Dominican-American painter. He received his BFA in 2018 from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Connecticut. Maldonado’s most recent exhibition, Delights Momentum, as an Emerging Artist fellow, was shown at the Kingston Gallery in Boston. As an artist-in-residence for the Lawrence Arts Collective, he developed a series of community-engaged works that earned him a certificate of recognition from the City of Lawrence for his contributions to the arts. Erick is currently an adjunct faculty member at Middlesex Community College in Lowell, MA.
