The first time I saw Afro-Cuban artist Harmonia Rosales’ work I held my breath. Her art is everything I never knew I always wanted.
To me, mainstream “fine art” is often mundane and monotonous. How many more times must I walk into another museum that centers Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Degas, Van Gogh, yadee yadee yadaa? They all blend into one and start looking the same. Those works never really spoke to me, yet growing up I kept hearing that paintings like “Sunflowers” and “Water Lilies” are the apex of fine art. Once you dig a little deeper though, it becomes clear that modern art, specifically, was meant to be European, white, apolitical and not make you think.