Caroline De Aquino

I was a little girl with a big imagination, which I used as wings to fly wherever I wished. I could spend hours daydreaming; creating stories, places, figures, and sometimes even imaginary friends. I became passionate about the feelings of freedom and curiosity that came from creating. 

As a teenager, I often visited street art fairs with my mother in Brazil, where I'd see colorful neighborhoods in combination with the bright and beautiful local street art. Later on, I graduated with a degree in Communications and Arts, and went on to work for six years with an international company in Sao Paulo. Though I worked in business at the time, I continued to explore my passion for art through travel. I went to Thailand, Indonesia, Columbia, and other places where I experienced new cultures and new sources of art.

In 2020, the world faced a global pandemic which affected all of our lives. At that time, when I was home with my family and had almost no contact with the outside world, art found me again. I discovered in abstract art the same wings that I had as a little girl. Again I felt my freedom to explore my mind  and experience all the new things my mind was able to combine and create. And I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the process of creating a new piece, where my imagination could physically manifest on the canvas to display to the world. And just like that, being an artist became my dream . Today I'm based in sunny California, where I am growing and learning day after day.

Artist Statement:

My art is very influenced by Brazilian culture: the music, weather, architecture, and graffiti have all been very present in my life since I was a little girl. I come from a middle class family, and in my neighborhood, street art was one of the main ways people expressed themselves. I'm also very inspired by Basquiat and Brazilian artist Cândido Portinari. My passion is in figurative, abstract art, because I feel the freedom of creating something new and inputting my feelings into the process. I call the creatures in my pieces monsters, not in a perjorative or scary sense, but in celebration of the unusual forms that emerge through my imagination.