A Love Letter To… - Juan Cruz Solo Exhibition

Exhibition: January 27 - February 8, 2025

Closing Reception and a conversation with the artist: Saturday, February 8th - 6:30-8pm.

ARTIST STATEMENT
This body of work represents a unity and a journey between two individuals in a space. What started as stencils for our engagement became a series of paintings. These paintings are created using four different words: Juan, Malak, Free, and Palestine. In a way, these words are a time-stamp of my journey with Islam and my wife. Inspired by the Arabic language and Japanese anime, my work mimics both through the use of line, color, and movement.

I am interested in “chance”. What happens if I take something recognizable and flip, turn, rotate, or overlap? Will the meaning change, or just the design? To me, these took on a whole different meaning. They became love letters or notes dedicated to my wife and the people of Palestine. A Love Letter To… is a collection of work that depicts my journey and my love.

A Love Letter to..

These are my letters to you.

To us.

To me.

They are a visual description of my commitment to us.

A promise to our people.
-Juan Cruz

ARTIST BIO
Juan Cruz is a Dallas-based artist and educator that creates sculptures, paintings and drawings. He’s had the opportunity to exhibit at Brookhaven Community College, Richland Community College, 500X, Latino Culture Center, Ash Studios, Texas Wesleyan University, University of North Texas and Mary Tomas Gallery. Cruz graduated with an Associate Degree of Arts from Brookhaven Community College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas.

In 2018, Cruz worked with the city of Dallas and received the Cultural Artist Program (CAP). At the end of 2018, Cruz studied abroad in Florence, Italy. In 2020, he pioneered the first virtual workshop with the Dallas’s Office of Arts and Culture. And in 2023, Cruz worked with Dallas Welcoming Communities and Immigrants Affairs in the Annual All-American City Award competition.

Cruz’s work focuses on traditional art mediums that explores architecture, technology, and ichthyology. Furthermore, it questions classical art and architecture in the history of art. His goal is to inspire and motivate the future generation in creating an art that breaks away from the “normal”, the “usual”, and to create an art form that asks questions.

Juan Cruz currently teaches painting at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.