The Heart Tart Maker

Yosiell Lorenzo’s work fits into that saying: “never judge a book by its cover”. At first glance, his artwork is all cuteness: cupcakes, cherries and candy. But beneath the facade of frosting and the rainbow sprinkles camouflage, a sadness is stirring. Yosiell uses sweetness to reel us in. Once he has us in his saccharine net, we settle and see beyond the surface: these are cheerless creatures. They are all searching for love. The Sicklings are a troop of Yosiell’s recurring characters who are particularly mopey and needy. Rendered in sexless simplicity, the Sicklings function like anthropomorphic feelings: Frustration, loneliness, despair…Often the Sicklings wear masks. Yosiell uses masks as a device throughout his paintings and three dimensional work. The masks represent dual and hidden identities, as well as society’s attempts to label individuals who resist categorization. Yosiell has dealt with these identity issues first hand. As a gay, Puerto Rican artist, he was often told that he didn’t “look gay” or he was a “fake Rican”. Yosiell was introduced to art in his youth during a time when hip hop and graffiti defined urban culture. Growing up in Bridgeport, CT, he’d hop the train to New York and absorb it all. In "Love should be everywhere in our daily life. Because Love is invisible, and we can’t touch it or buy it, we usually pass over it. Modern society lacks Love due to a lack of communication. If I want Love from someone, and I don’t give the person Love, it’s unfair. It’s wrong just requiring Love from someone. If you start giving Love to people around you, Love will be everywhere, and we can live happily. If the world were to embrace the Love Movement, it would solve many problems we have." –Nao "Many creators put their Love into this exhibition. Please feel their Love. Giving Love will bring even bigger Love back to you. We can spread Love. That is the Love Movement." –Shin