Photo by Yael Martinez
Evoking diasporic and gender variant experiences, I combine fragmentary images of people and scenes, illuminating the in-betweenness of identity. I utilize multifaceted visual symbols across painting, photography, and interactive community projects to explore internal boundlessness, collective cultural experiences, and the poetic relationship between nature and humanity. My approach to art making is influenced by “Rasquachismo,” a Chicano art movement that embodies resistance and resilience in the face of adversity, as well as “Ma,” a Japanese concept referring to the gaps and intervals of time, space, and being.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* :･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Sol Diaz-Peña is a contemporary artist and community organizer whose work encompasses a multidisciplinary practice grounded in painting and photography.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* :･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Sol Diaz-Peña is a contemporary artist and community organizer whose work encompasses a multidisciplinary practice grounded in painting and photography.
They have exhibited their work throughout their native city of Houston, Texas at places such as Project Row Houses, Houston City Hall, Box 13, FLATS Arts and Culture Lab, Wedgespace, and Sawyer Yards. They have been awarded residencies at Lawndale Art & Performance Center (Houston, TX), Artists’ Literacy Institute (New York, NY), and Project Row Houses (Houston, TX). In 2021 they were a recipient of the Idea Fund award for their project The Place I Know and most recently they were awarded a place in On Communities Masterclass with Magnum Photos and Houston Center of Photography.
Since 2021, Diaz-Peña has been a co-organizer of OpenMFA, an artist collective that provides community, dialogue, and cross-disciplinary collaboration for artists based in the Houston area. As part of their work with OpenMFA, they will be part of a forthcoming residency at Asia Society Texas Center and exhibiting with Blaffer Art Museum in the 2024 Texas Biennial. In 2024, their work was published in New American Paintings no. 174, West Issue. Diaz-Peña received a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a concentration in Critical Race Studies from University of Houston - Downtown.