Luis Felipe Chávez

Luis Felipe Chávez is a visual artist whose work uses traditional drawing and painting to explore migration, labor, identity, and belonging through a queer, cross-cultural lens. Centering the human figure, his practice captures both physical and symbolic realities while reflecting on th

e possibilities of human existence and creation. Chávez views art as a process of rediscovery and rebuilding, with recurring themes of transformation and death that speak to change, loss, and the acceptance of impermanence.

In the conversation below, Luis Felipe Chávez reflects on the experiences, ideas, and creative process that inform his work.

How would you describe your artistic style? Has it changed over time?

It is difficult for me to describe my artistic style or to find the right words for it because I

enjoy exploring different aspects of painting and the visual arts. I am drawn to figurative work and to representing not only what I see but also what exists beneath the surface. Through my work, I try to reveal what I believe is meaningful, relevant, or often overlooked.

My style has changed over time, just as I have. My color palette, themes, and concepts have all changed throughout my practice. For a long time, I worked almost exclusively in black and white, whereas now I am using colors. Although I continue to be deeply interested in representing the human figure, I also enjoy painting streets, and everyday objects. One aspect that has remained constant in my practice is my interest in representing movement and layering images. I see this process of overlapping forms as a way of exploring perception, memory, and transformation, allowing each piece to develop through experimentation and discovery.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I would say that I find inspiration through the act of working itself. I like to work in series, and each piece often leads to new ideas and new ways of seeing the same subject—or entirely different ones. For me, making art is a process of discovery, where one work naturally gives rise to the next. I also find inspiration in the places I inhabit, the places I have lived and visited, the people with whom I share my life, the books I read, and the histories of those places, as well as history more broadly, which I see as an essential part of culture. Much of my work begins with existential questions: Where am I? What do I believe? What is my place in this society, and at this moment in time? The images I create are my way of searching for and responding to those questions.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working on a new series of paintings that explores the image of the Crucifixion of Jesus, examining its significance throughout art history and its relationship to the social and political realities of our present moment. I am also working as a studio assistant on a project for the Berkeley Art Museum.

To learn more about Luis Felipe Chávez and explore more of his work, visit luisfelipestudio.com or follow him on Instagram at @luisfelipestudio.