Christian J. Roldán Aponte

Artist and Educator

Bio

Christian J. Roldán is an artist/muralist, and educator, dedicated to create public art.  His practice has focus in serving local communities to amplify their voices and experiences through imagery story telling. Since relocating to Chicago, he has been deeply involved in community-driven public art projects with a focus on representing community narratives from their own perspective. 

Work Process

The genesis of his creative process is ‘discomfort’. Inspiration emerges by questioning the status quo, and imagining an alternative reality. His work speaks to the desire to understand, codify, and reconstruct social narratives, to reveal society as a social construct constantly changing, and to preserve the collective memory in the diaspora. Once the narrative and idea emerges, with each trace, the creation becomes a problem in constant evolution with each trace, brushstrokes, and layers over layers of paint. The image starts mutating with the ideas. First is a blank surface, later is a doodle. Then, after a while, the piece begins getting shape, little by little. It’s then when I leave everything and rework it the next day.