By: ERIN MICHELLE NEWBERG
Born in the Dominican Republic, Valerie Cabrera Brugal is a Miami-based art connoisseur and a dynamic entrepreneur dedicated to promoting the rich and diverse Latin American art community. With Catalysta, Brugal’s groundbreaking platform, she connects art enthusiasts with the next generation of Latin American artists. Here are some of Brugal’s favorite works available through her digital flagship.
YELLOW RISE – MARIA PAULA SUAREZ / Suarez believes that art is a powerful tool capable of providing new forms of self-knowledge. Her work reflects on love, its various forms, and the use of language as a tool to understand it. I selected this piece because of its vibrant color, its state of lightness, and fluidity. The craft of embroidery and colored pencils on paper is unique, and the artist executes it perfectly.
AN OUTDOOR LUNCH – SOFIA BAUSSAN / Sofia lives and works in El Salvador. Her paintings are not literal self-portraits; they do, however, serve as a visual representation of her experiences and reflect specific moments in time. She romanticizes simple daily interactions, creating a profound beauty and highlighting a human connection. Her work’s colors, silhouettes, and techniques transmit an image of beauty and peace in a contemporary fashion.
DRAWING 6 FROM THE PARIS BOOKS SERIES – MAYTE NICOLE ESTEBAN / Based in Paris, Mayte is an artist from the Dominican Republic. Her drawings are an escape through which she materializes a bigger perspective. Her technique is called sumi-e and derives from Chinese tradition, using ink, canvas, and papers made with organic materials. I love the versatility and simple elegance of Mayte’s work; it’s fun and intelligent at the same time.
CODE BLUE 1 – MAU SAMAYOA / Mau Samayoa’s work is done primarily with paper, which he uses to create abstract structures on the surface using surgical techniques usually applied to art restoration. His pieces, mainly monochromes, keep the paper “white” to generate patterns and textures visible through the interaction with light and shadows. This piece is a unique paper sculpture that captures the eye of anyone looking at it. It is a contemporary work that plays with abstraction.
GROUP CHAT ON MUTE – ANA SOFÍA BATLLE / Ana Sofía Batlle boldly questions conventional beauty standards in her artwork, particularly about how Dominican women alter their bodies to pursue these ideals. What I like most about her work is how playful she is in her use of colors, patterns, shapes and the uniqueness they portray. Through her adept use of composition, shapes, lines, and colors, she crafts a playful, intuitive, and repetitive style that challenges established beauty norms and perceptions, especially within the context of the human body.
