Exploring Multiculturalism and Gender in Art: Sol Diaz-Peña

Visual artist and organizer Sol Diaz-Peña (they/him) openly lives his life as a multicultural, queer, nonbinary trans person. As a native Houstonian with ethnic ties to Mexico and Cuba, Sol often addresses multiculturalism in his artwork, especially at a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion are not only actively discouraged but on the verge of being outlawed. His gender and sexuality are also frequent subjects in his work.

Diaz-Peña works mostly in painting and photography, with recent forays into other media such as stained glass.

Over the last nine months, he’s been in the Artist Studio Program at Lawndale Art Center. The new work created during that residency can be seen during his solo exhibit, Here All Along, opening September 27 at the Center.

“My work explores the space that exists between things. We may know this as empty or negative space, which people tend to want to fill. I want us to slow down and allow there to be emptiness. To explore what it means to experience this space,” he tells us. “That idea of space that exists between things relates to my being a multicultural person who is nonbinary. Ethnic labels and gender labels don’t fully fit me. I feel ‘in between’ culturally and in terms of gender.”

Diaz-Peña employs architecture, figures, and cultural symbols in his paintings. Those symbols are personal to him, such as a horse’s saddle in Houston featuring a textile pattern similar to one found on ancient architecture in Mitla, Oaxaca. One recent painting shows two houses that have been melded together. “One is my ancestral home in Oaxaca and one is my home here in Houston. I’ve merged them. That house doesn’t exist except in my imagination,” he says.

Another frequent symbol for Diaz-Peña is the poinsettia. “The poinsettia is one of my protagonists,” he explains. “I use them as a symbol of the brown body.”

The poinsettia plant was cultivated thousands of years ago by the Aztecs in Mexico. It was named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, a United States diplomat in Mexico who brought the flower to the US in the early 1800s.

“Now we purchase these plants, celebrate Christmas using them, and then throw them away. We purchase them to throw them away. They’re disposable,” he says. “What’s amazing is that they can grow to be eight-foot-tall trees. When a family member showed me one in my uncle’s garden, I just cried. Before I saw one, I didn’t even have the ability to imagine that. I would have thought it was impossible—in the same way a queer, nonbinary multicultural person is impossible for some people. They don’t have the ability to imagine that. But here I am.”

While he has something specific in mind when creating his work, Diaz-Peña understands that viewers may see something different.

“We all carry layered experiences with us, and I believe you can see my work and understand it in your own way. You can also gain a new perspective by learning more about me and the lore behind the work. But at the end of the day, I want folks to feel comfortable with the interpretation that comes to them.”

Diaz-Peña has found his time spent in residency at Lawndale Art Center as one of exponential growth.

“I’ve been in competition with myself during this residency. I was confronted with a lot of things. Stepping into it, I knew I was going to grow and change. It’s nice to be on the other side of that now. It’s nice to see how much my confidence has grown. I’ve also had the time to really tap into my work. To have the room—just the space to spread out and work—has been a blessing.”

WHAT: Here All Along, an exhibit by Sol Diaz-Peña
WHEN: Thursday , September 26 from 6-8 pm
WHERE: Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main Street
INFO: tinyurl.com/SolDiazPena