The discovered object holds Puerto Rican descent in a layered portrait of Adrián ViaerjeroMan – Huge
“The objects I use are often used as memory guardians,” Adrián Viaerjero Román said. “Sometimes they find me – objects with history, decline or existence – I have built a piece around them. Other times, I start with material that I want to tell and seek to hold that narrative.”
Rome found an intuitive balance between objects and ideas, and when he merged the three-dimensional forms of two-dimensional portraits, they could influence each other, such as wooden frames, religious symbols, worn chicken threads, and even a can of gossip. These discoveries (seemingly mundane) possess stories to reflect the artist’s ongoing interests: memory, migration, and family tree we can trace back to objects that accompany us or those we leave behind.
Based between Brooklyn, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, Rome often reflects on the experiences of Puerto Rican diaspora and the forked lifestyle that emerges when people leave their homes. He is very interested in the correlation between attribution and displacement and in maintaining the relevance of the past that is crucial to telling honest stories about himself and his community.
Artists often have children in their works, who are both innocent and well-understood. These young protagonists stare at the audience, may be firmly involved in the game, or pose in a way that suggests impermanence. For example, while the child was “picking up the pieces”, while sitting on a shaking plastic bottle, her chunky hand grabbed a white towel, a erratic seat that could only last for so long. Share by Rome:
Children become physically symbols of dimensions, possibilities and resilience, allowing our space to live in our spaces to remind people of hope and imagination…I often portray children because they have both potential innocence and clarity of truth. In these works, children are not passive. They dream of dreaming, resisting, and survival. They become living monuments, carrying the weight of history while pointing us to the future.
In his solo exhibition Archives Vivos At the National Puerto Rico Museum in Chicago, the artist presents his mixed media sculptures and installations as a journey of Puerto Rico identity. As the name suggests, archival images and objects seem to appear frequently to illustrate the various effects on this collective experience.
As part of this exhibition, Román facilitated a pair of workshops, inviting community members to reflect on their experiences and meet with the immigration and customs law enforcement community, and then create paper airplanes or ships. Participants also answered a deeper, lasting question: “What does citizenship mean, especially for Puerto Ricans, whose U.S. citizenship is imposed rather than chosen?”
“This seminar came at a time of urgency,” Rome said, noting that a few days before the gathering, federal agents announced that they had visited the museum. “It’s a shocking reminder that our community is still surveillance, targeted and threatening. That’s why we have to keep telling stories – why we gather in these spaces to remember, create and resist.”
Archives Vivos It lasts until January 17, 2026. caja de memoria viva The series will be open in October this year at the National Portrait Gallery and follow puro ritmo April at the Smithsonian Latin American Museum. Before that, keep up with the artist’s work on his website and on Instagram.
