Some people write about their lives. I create art about mine. My work is autobiographical—an ongoing visual memoir shaped by memory, movement, and meaning. I draw from childhood experiences growing up in Cuba, from journeys to India, Bhutan, Europe, South America, and back again, and from the thoughts, emotions, and questions that arise along the way. Each piece becomes a space to explore what it means to exist, to belong, to lose, to long, and to hope. One work may grapple with themes of displacement and loneliness; another may speak to civic responsibility, such as the importance of voting. Together, they form a narrative of transformation—personal, cultural, and emotional.

My process begins with an inner journey: a feeling, an idea, a fleeting memory. I rarely start with a fixed plan. Instead, I allow the work to unfold intuitively, trusting the materials and images to guide me. I resist confinement to a single medium or style. Influenced by Picasso’s multidisciplinary approach and Basquiat’s fearless use of mark-making and unconventional surfaces, I move freely among drawing, printmaking, painting, collage, photography, sculpture, and assemblage.

 My recent collages and paintings are built from layered, mixed-media materials—spray paint, acrylics, and found urban artifacts such as sticker tags, slaps, paste-ups, advertisements, zines, posters, cardboard, bottle caps, and photographs of street art gathered during my travels. Interwoven with these are fragments of my own history: old newspapers, license plate cut-outs, puzzle pieces, sheet music, letters, and family photographs. These elements become both structure and story—evidence of where I have been and who I am becoming.

 Through abstraction, I shape obscured images, shifting forms, and open spaces that mirror the ambiguity of life itself. I am drawn to what is unfinished, uncertain, and mysterious. In Metamorphosis, transformation is not a single event, but a continuous process—of memory becoming meaning, of experience becoming art.

 Ultimately, my goal is to create work that invites reflection and dialogue. Each piece carries a trace of my journey but leaves room for others to find their own. In every work I make, I leave a part of myself—offering art not only as expression, but as connection.

Collection of works curated by Kaleigh Gillette, art history student from Oglethorpe University.

Ines is exhibiting two collages at the Atlanta Collage Society show “Deck the Walls: A Holiday Celebration of Collage” from November 2, 2023 – January 8, 2024 at the Ventulett Gallery at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Sandy Springs, GA.

An Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, November 2nd from 6:30–8:30PM.