I recognize in my work a strong influence from my childhood experiences growing up gay in Franco’s Spain. My first impression of fine art came from being exposed to religious paintings when I attended catechism classes in church. I was eight years old. There was a profound eroticism in the expressive nudity of the physical figures. At the same time, their represented suffering was an invitation to romanticize pain. I realized later in life how that highly stylized sentimental combination of eroticism and physical struggle influenced my approach to painting.

The feminine in the masculine has also been part of the conceptual genesis of my visual narrative. Having to conceal my sexual orientation in such a hostile, orthodox environment allowed me to explore themes of hiding and revealing, of internal and projected identity.