Beatriz Amelia Whitehill is a Puerto Rican-American multidisciplinary artist. Her work speaks to diasporic communities through a visual representation of the resilience and endurance of culture. Her paintings are worlds that contain fleeting memories and inner reflections hidden within everyday objects. She blends traditional painting techniques with animation and three-dimensional installation to build immersive and accessible artworks.
Beatriz holds a BFA in painting at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She is currently a painting studio mentor at Artists for Humanity, a community artist liaison for the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and a studio resident at Boston Center for the Arts.
Artist statement
Cuentitos de hada (fairytales and other snippets of stories I wasn’t supposed to hear)
The works depict a range of folktales and family stories I heard growing up, along with stories my mother told me about growing up in Puerto Rico. This exhibition is an intimate exploration of heritage and legacy, using my perspective to interpret and contribute to the ongoing narrative of my family and cultural history. The iron-style gates and doors that cover the works show Caribbean aesthetics in architecture, the influence of Spaniard colonization. These doors open to reveal an intimate painting, a vignette and a window into the past. The varied imagery recounts stories from my mother and aunts of their childhood in Puerto Rico, and addresses my understanding of my role in the continuation of these stories.
Instagram: @beatrizzzamelia
Personal website
preview
suitcase that only made it one
block from home), oil on panel, 3.25 x 4.25 in, $100
basket with a hidden bottle of
rum so the sisters can drink
without the husbands finding
out), oil on panel, clay, wire, wood
and metal hinges, 3.25 x 2.5 in, $150
grandparents house that’s
now my aunt’s house), oil on canvas, clay, wood,
and meta hinges, 3×3 in, $200
story of the weathervane), oil on panel, 3 x 4.25 in, $200
