Amador paintings feature a color palette that is a direct reflection of his surroundings. Growing up amidst the beaches and mountains of Puerto Rico, he draws primary inspiration from these places, which hold a lifetime of memories and experiences for him. The transparent waters, palm trees, and flowers from his upbringing are translated into vibrant, colorful paintings. The artist believes that art can shape emotions, and through his work, he aims to provoke a sense of joy. Amador enjoys exploring various mediums in his work. He has developed diverse styles, from abstract depictions to collages made from leftover painting materials.
AVAILABLE ARTWORKS BY JUAN CARLOS AMADOR
THE MATERIALITY OF TIME SERIES / (LA MATERIALIDAD DEL TIEMPO)
About the MATERIALITY OF TIME series: Juan Carlos Amador grounds his recent work in two essential elements: cellulose and time. Using reclaimed wooden moldings from the 1980s and ’90s-originally designed for framing artworks-Amador transforms objects tied to the past into modular sculptural forms. These materials carry their own histories, inviting viewers to look beyond surface aesthetics and consider the temporal layers embedded within them. Drawing from the long tradition of artists who challenge the function of the frame, Amador reimagines it as a sculptural element rather than a boundary. His totemic constructions honor the inherent properties of the wood while referencing modernist efforts to break from convention. The absence of frames in the accompanying drawings echoes this gesture, positioning the entire exhibition as an exploration of memory, material, and the passage of time.
THE MASKS SERIES / (LAS MASCARAS)
About the MASKS series: This series draws inspiration from Hatillo’s Fiesta de los Santos Inocentes, translating the festival’s vibrant movement and collective energy into a refined abstract vocabulary. Through repeated organic forms, layered translucent color, and rhythmic patterns of ovals, dots, and lines, Amador evokes the bells, textiles, and dynamic motion of the masqueraders without depicting them literally. The palette-ranging from vivid chromatic bursts to softened whites-recalls the iconic costumes of the celebration. Rooted in geometric abstraction yet shaped by lived cultural experience, Las Máscaras- situates local tradition within a contemporary, Caribbean-centered approach to painting.
ABSTRACT RHYTHMS SERIES / (RITMOS ABSTRACTOS)
About the ABSTRACT RHYTHMS series: explores Juan Carlos Amador’s translation of invisible forces—space, movement, and energy—into vibrant abstract forms. Through layered colors, intertwining shapes, and rhythmic patterns, Amador evokes the dynamism of nature and human experience without literal representation. Each work invites viewers into a sensorial encounter where abstraction becomes a language of movement, feeling, and perception. The series emphasizes the interplay of motion and stillness, allowing the energy of the compositions to resonate personally with each observer. Abstract Rhythms affirms abstraction as a universal, emotive language that bridges visual art and lived experience.
EXHIBITIONS
EXHIBITION
JUAN CARLOS AMADOR
REPRESENTED ARTIST
Juan Carlos Amador López is a multimedia artist, born in Mayagüez and raised on the coast of Aguadilla. He has dedicated himself to the visual arts since completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus, with his creative emphasis placed on the concept of color. Through his contemporary works, he revisits and reevaluates the Neo-Impressionist pictorial method—also known as Divisionism—characteristic of the late 19th-century movement.
His recent abstractions display a unique style and focus on optical color combinations, ranging from the fragmented application of pure pigmentation to extensive, oval shapes of semi-opaque pigments. Amador superimposes these translucent color patches with the intention of filling the plane with an assortment of hues frozen in a process of transformation. Free from the burden of a specific narrative or message, the meaning of these works depends on the appreciation of each viewer—on their individual and biological capacity to instantly perceive, comprehend, and interpret color introspectively.
Juan Carlos Amador has exhibited his work both within and outside of Puerto Rico, with his most recent exhibition having been on the island of Saint Thomas. His work is also part of important local and international private collections.