Artist Bio: Yosiell Lorenzo

Yosiell Lorenzo’s work fits the adage: “never judge a book by its cover”. At first glance, his artwork is cute. But beneath the facade of frosting, a sadness is stirring. He uses sweetness to reel us in, and once he has us, we see frustration and loneliness beneath the surface. Masks are a device throughout his work that represent dual and hidden identities, as well as society’s attempts to label individuals who resist categorization. As a gay, Puerto Rican artist, Yosiell has dealt with these identity issues first hand.

He has had a solo show every year since 2008 and his work has appeared in group shows in New York, LA, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami. A personal highlight for Yosiell was being invited to show at Gallery1988. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he continues to spend many hours in his studio working on paintings, toys and illustrations.