Efren Candelaria

Efren Candelaria

Born in Puerto Rico in 1980, Candelaria is an aggressively innovative young artist whose work centers around the freehand drawing of vertical lines, often with graphite on paper or wood veneer.

Inspired by childhood memories of his relatives drawing, Candelaria eschews geometric perfection for the inevitable bumps and curves of freehand drawing. Using the literally linear to express a non-linear grammar, the artist’s organic, unconstrained approach gives concrete form to abstract ideas. His 2007 exhibition at Eight Modern, Hardly Smooth, reflected his conception of each line as a specific point in time and space.

Unafraid of negative space, imperfection or unconventional methods, Candelaria received a soccer scholarship to the University of Puerto Rico before transferring to the University of Miami, where he earned his B.F.A. and numerous honors. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times and has been exhibited extensively in New York and Miami, including at Art Basel Miami.

Efren Candelaria

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