Minhafofa

I am a New York based artist specializing in large-scale paintings, murals, and wearable sculptures. Teaching art and martial arts for the past ten years, both endeavors have led me heavily into public art and engaging with the community. Fueled by a profound interest in people, my art is a garishly vibrant and playful merger of people with the objects, environments, and energies that embody them. I strive to create empowered, bold and energetic portraits that illuminate the energy individuals possess while setting a general tone of positivity, brightness, and fun into the world. Growing up with a father who rose out of extreme poverty in El Salvador who came to work in various positions in the sanitation field; I have had an in-depth view of people's tumultuous relationship with possessions and status. Rightly so, the way we portray ourselves and the way others see us is a fascinating dynamic I’m truly inspired by. Hair specifically is a fundamental aspect to my work. Historically, hair holds so much depth and meaning. It is the physical manifestation of the passage of time, it reflects mood and health, and holds the freedom for style and color and ultimately self expression. It is also often something attacked and repressed in society. My work celebrates the beauty and variety of texture and literally wearing our interests, thoughts, feelings and essence at the forefront.