Post 10 Artist Statement- Samantha Castro

Artist Statement

    I am an artist who mostly works in painting and drawing. My work is rooted in personal narrative and cultural memory, exploring identity through vibrant, feminine, and tropical aesthetics. Rich with symbolism, texture, and color, my pieces often feature coquí frogs, Taíno symbols, family photographs, and botanical motifs. These elements are layered intentionally to reflect the complexity of identity, heritage, and memory.
    As a Puerto Rican woman, my work centers on themes of cultural preservation, displacement, and belonging. I use self-portraiture as a tool of reflection and reclamation, examining how my identity is shaped by both personal experiences and historical forces, as well as objects and landscapes, to explore narrative. My process is intuitive and research-based. Blending historical references, family stories, and visual symbols that speak to a larger narrative of diaspora and resilience.
    I am inspired by artists like Frida Kahlo and Kiquita, whose work explores selfhood, emotion, and cultural symbolism. Like them, I use art to process and express the parts of myself that don’t always have language. I am excited by the possibilities of expressing emotion, reclaiming culture, and discovering new parts of myself through my creative practice.
    Through my work, wanting to confront the ongoing effects of colonialism, gentrification, and cultural fragmentation. Realities that have deeply impacted Puerto Rican communities both on and off the island. These tensions are present in the coquí frogs in my paintings that do not sing, representing the fragility of cultural connection and the quiet endurance of memory.
    Ultimately, I want my art to create a space for reflection, recognition, and dialogue. Whether it's through a shared cultural reference or a feeling of emotional familiarity, I want viewers, especially fellow Boricuas, to feel seen. At the same time, my work offers others a window into the complexities of cultural identity and what it means to preserve, reclaim, and carry a lineage. My practice is an act of honoring, of preserving, and of reconnecting. Each piece is a small offering, part personal archive, part public conversation on what it means to belong, to remember, and to be.

Bio

    Samantha Castro is a New Jersey-based Puerto Rican artist pursuing a BFA in Fine Arts at New Jersey City University, who received a four-year scholarship. Rooted in painting, her work explores themes of identity, cultural preservation, and belonging. Drawing inspiration from her heritage and personal experiences, she uses vibrant, feminine, and symbolic imagery such as coquí frogs and Taíno motifs to reflect on memory, displacement, and resilience. Her practice serves as a space for reflection, reconnection, and storytelling, inviting viewers to engage with questions of identity, migration, and home. Through her art, she aims to create connections and preserve cultural narratives across generations.