Discover the Art of Christian Lucena

As an oil painter, I use art as a way of processing the world around me. Every choice each brushstroke, color, and gesture becomes a record of who I am in that moment. My paintings function as journals, capturing my joys and turmoil, my struggles and small triumphs. They are still images, but each holds a fragment of my inner life.

Art has been my means of understanding my environment since childhood. Growing up in Venezuela, drawing helped me navigate a world marked by instability, unfairness, and corruption. Long before I had language for what I was witnessing, shapes and lines allowed me to make sense of it. Through that early practice, I learned that the hatred we direct toward others is often a reflection of the parts of ourselves we struggle to confront. Most people run from this realization; yet denying it only pushes it deeper, where it thrives behind our promises, beliefs, and self-constructed narratives.

In my work, I explore the ways art can draw out these hidden tensions. Sometimes it appears in the struggle of the painting process; other times it lingers after a piece comes together too quickly, haunting me with what it reveals. I believe every brushstroke contains evidence of the inner self, our vulnerabilities, contradictions, and truths.

My intention is to create work that encourages self-reflection. Through these painted fragments, I hope to provoke thought, invite emotional honesty, and help others uncover the subtle clues that lead to understanding their own inner landscape.