Treating his paint like water, Raelis Vasquez depicts the aqueous bodies of his hometown

While Raelis Vasquez’s paintings of Mao Valverde are filled with figures, water takes centre stage. Featuring in every painting, submerging a body or simply providing a backdrop, the glistening blues, greens and browns have a magnetic quality. Sometimes still, gentle and flowing, and sometimes disturbed with flashes of white, the artist’s attention to detail has breathtaking results. To achieve such visuals, Raelis tells us that he treated the fluidity of paint “as a medium akin to water”, allowing his materials to embody its spirit. “I sought to paint it in a manner that reflected the essence of being present in that very moment,” he says.

 

Mao Valverde is the painter’s hometown, a municipality in the Dominican Republic. Mao is a Taíno word that translates the ‘land between rivers’, Raelis explains, a fitting name when considering the city’s strong connection to its waterways. “The river holds immense communal significance, being a vital resource for water and a place for relaxation and contemplation,” he says. “It can also pose risks if not navigated carefully due to the currents and rocky terrain.”