From a young age, Iván Alejandro Báez Cartagena showed passion and sensibility towards the arts. This encouraged him to take classes during his teenage years at La Liga de Arte, La Escuela de Artes Plásticas, and Taller de Artistas, leading to a bachelor’s degree from La Escuela de Artes Plásticas in Puerto Rico. Báez is full of curiosity which has led him to explore themes such as metaphysics, spirituality, and social relations in his art. His work is subject to, as well as a reflection of, the times he lives in, the accelerated nature of modern society, the post-internet era, the bombardment of propaganda images, and our search for identity as Puerto Ricans. The multicultural quality of the internet has erased the boundaries for his references and readings allowing him to absorb qualities and practices from different cultures as well as artistic movements from around the world. Báez was influenced by Rothko, Duchamp and Lucian Freud, with whom he shares similar aesthetic and conceptual concerns. His main style emphasizes color; however, he is not limited to paint. He believes that technology is an ally to art and dedicates his time to explore materials and new production methods.
Báez has taken part in exhibitions at La Galería Urbe Apie (Caguas, PR), the Barcelona Night exposition (Barcelona, España) Paseo Caribe (San Juan, PR), The Art Room (Hato Rey, PR) , 840 Gallery (Cincinnati, USA), and the Puerto Rico Museum of Art (Santurce, PR). His work has been acquired by art collectors in Puerto Rico, New York, and Atlanta. His intention with his art is to transmit an emotion and achieve transcendence in the spectator. His work has led him to define his style as “…an exploration of the conscience, an attempt to capture what is not seen, but is known to be there.”
