Felipe Baeza’s story is like that of many immigrant families. He and his family left their home country of Mexico when he was a child, seeking a new life in the United States. A part of the U.S. immigrant experience is living in a state of flux and suspension as their lives are constantly litigated by those in power. In his art, Baeza showcases that idea of otherness, while exploring the queer, migrant experience.

Of his work, Baeza says, “Part of [my] approach is to think about how I provide a visual language that constructs alternative possibilities for people to live autonomously and flourish while living through constraints.” 

Baeza receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Visual Arts for his studio practice and poetic style that engages multiple mediums and traditions to explore spirituality, otherness, and regeneration.

Merging the Human and Non-human

Throughout his work, Baeza often uses hybrid and fragmented figures—bodies that merge the human and non-human. These figures break conventional molds, freeing the subjects from rigid norms and societal expectations. The subjects of his work are dreamlike and futuristic in a way, exploring alternate ways of being or living, creating a sense of autonomy and resistance to social constraints. “As a maker, I always had an urge for emancipation through material. I combine collage and printmaking techniques to create textured works that allow me to combine different images, times, and spaces, and bring them together into a very specific conversation,” Baeza says. 

Though he often describes his work as “fugitive” and “unruly,” everything is done with intentionality. Through the fragments of imagery and symbology, the artist displays a sense of incompleteness or being in an unfixed state. The fragmentation empowers the viewer to imagine alternate realities. At the same time, the art encourages contemplation of the incomplete, allowing the work to shape-shift. 

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“The work sits in an unfixed space,” Baeza says, “and I hope it manages to stay that way—avoiding rigid and linear categories through new forms while embracing unknowability as a non-horizon.”

Creating New Possibilities

Baeza’s art is about creating new possibilities—for himself, his viewers, and the subjects of his paintings, drawings, and collages. He creates hybrid, fragmented figures that resist conformity and categorization, and in doing so challenges viewers to see the world in a new way. His art invites people to experience freedom, autonomy, and the potential for reinvention, particularly for those who always felt on the outside of society. 

When thinking about the people who engage with his art, Baeza wants viewers to leave with a renewed perspective, experiencing the world through a different lens and embracing the richness of diverse stories. He believes everyone deserves to envision a future where freedom and self-expression are boundless.

His work is a powerful testament to the beauty, resilience, and complexity of the immigrant and queer experiences. With his poetic, multidisciplinary style, Baeza redefines contemporary art, encouraging viewers to reconsider self, community, and possibility. In his art, he offers hope to those who have felt marginalized or constrained.