<strong>Rafael Trelles</strong>, <em>Dambalah</em> (detail), 2018. Oil on linen, 91.5 x 122 cm.<strong>Rafael Trelles</strong>, <em>El señor de los hongos (Lord of the Mushrooms)</em> (detail), 2020. Oil on linen, 91.5 x 122 cm.<h2>RAFAEL TRELLES<br>AXIS MUNDI CATALOGUE</h2>Available From Our Store, £10 + P&P<strong>Rafael Trelles</strong>, <em>Untitled Drawing #2</em>, 2013. Pencil on a digital reproduction of a watercolour by Dr. Agustín Stahl, 60 x 82 cm.<strong>Rafael Trelles</strong>, <em>Mackandal</em>, 2018. Pencil and block printing ink on a digital reproduction of a watercolour by Dr. Agustín Stahl, 59 x 79 cm.

Rafael Trelles

Rafael Trelles.
Photo: © Rebecca Zilenziger, 2019.
Rafael Trelles, Susúa (Susúa Forest) (detail), 2019. Oil on linen,
183 x 122 cm.


Rafael Trelles began studying painting at the age of eleven, under the guidance of Spanish painter Julio Yort. In 1980, Trelles did postgraduate studies at the University of Mexico, Mexico City. In 1985, he moved to the Canary Islands in Spain and began to explore alchemy, mysticism and magic. He developed the technique of combining naturalistic drawings of flora and fauna in ways that suggest overtones of ethereal significance. His paintings are suffused with hints of hidden insight and awareness. He first showed with October Gallery in 2018, as part of the exhibition Portal with a series of works called Flora, in which he invites the viewer into a naturalist trance.

Trelles has been exhibited internationally including, Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Florida; Queens Museum of Art, New York, USA; the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts), Frederiksted, Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands; and Galería de Arte del Complejo Cultural BUAP, Puebla, Mexico. In 2018, a major exhibition Santurce, un libro mural, was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico. His work is in many collections including: Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico, Santurce, Puerto Rico; Ramapo College Museum, New Jersey, USA; and University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

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View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.



Raphael Trelles will be giving a Gallery Talk at October Gallery and livestream via Facebook on Saturday, 26th June, 2021, 15:00 - 16:30. Book your free place here.
 

FROM OUR STORE



 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS



 

SELECTED WORKS





 

MEDIA



 

Rafael Trelles

Born, 1957, Santurce, Puerto Rico. Lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Selected solo exhibitions
2021   Axis Mundi, October Gallery, London, UK
2020   The Imagined Word, Point of Contact Gallery, Syracuse University, New York, USA
La palabra imaginada (The Imagined Word), Museo de Las Américas (MLA), San Juan, Puerto Rico 
2018   Santurce, un libro mural (Santurce, A Mural Book), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), Santurce, Puerto Rico
2015   Flora:Encuentro con las acuarelas de Agustin Stahl (Flora; an encounter with the watercolours of Augustín), Galería San Juan Bautista Art Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2013   Samsa, Sala Aljibe de la Residencia de invitados de la UGR, Carmen de la Victoria, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
2012   Intersecciones (Intersections), Museo de Arte de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2011   Intersections, Puerto Rican Workshop, Philadelphia, USA
En concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete (Urban Graphics), Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009   Samsa: Digital Photography, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007   Figuraciones sobre plástico (Works on Plastic), Gallería 356, San Juan, Puerto Rico
En concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete (Urban Graphics), Proyecto'ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina
En concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete (Urban Graphics), Museo El Fortín de Conde Mirasol, Vieques, Puerto Rico
2006   En concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete (Urban Graphics), Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), Santurce, Puerto Rico
2005   Natividad (Nativity), Galería Sin Título, San Juan, Puerto Rico
En concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete, (Urban Graphics), Antiguos terrenos del Navy, Vieques, Puerto Rico
En concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete, (Urban Graphics), Museo El Fortín de Conde Mirasol, Vieques, Puerto Rico
En Concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete, (Urban Graphics) Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004   En Concreto (gráfica urbana), In Concrete, (Urban Graphics) Gallería de Arte, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2003   Poliedro (Polyhedron), Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001   Crónicas del Asombro (Chronicles of Wonder), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000   Visitas a 'El Velorio'(Visiting 'The Wake'), Museo de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999    Exhibition of Paintings, Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Florida, USA
1997   Paisaje Secreto (Secret Landscape), Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP), Ponce, Puerto Rico
Exhibition of Paintings, Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Florida, USA
1996   Visitas a 'El Velorio' (Visiting 'The Wake'), Museuo de la Historia de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
1993   El Jardín del Poeta (The Poet’s Garden), Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992    Exposición de dibujos (Exhibition of Drawings), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
1991   Visitas a 'El Velorio' (Visiting 'The Wake'), Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1990   Painting and Drawing ExhibitionGallery Renaissance III, New Jersey, USA
1989   15to. Festival del Café de Yauco (15th Coffee Festivalof Yauco),Casa Fleming, Yauco, Puerto Rico
Exposición de dibujos (Exhibition of Drawings), Library, Humacao Campus, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Humacao, Puerto Rico
1988   Afroamericanos, Centro Universitario, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Librería Hermes, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1987   Un camino hacia la magia (A Path to Magic), Liga de Estudiantes de Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1986   El tarot del universo (The Tarot of the Universe), Café Teatro El Aquisitio, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
1985   Exposición de pintura, dibujo y litografía (Paintings, Drawings and Lithography Exhibition), Edificio del Laboratorio de Pantomima, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico
1983   Exposición de pintura, dibujo y litografía (Paintings, Drawings and Lithography Exhibition), Galería Guatibirí, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
1979   Exposición de dibujo (Exhibition of Drawings), Francisco Oller Gallery, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Selected group exhibitions
2018   Portal, October Gallery, London, UK
2013   Muestra Nacional de Arte (National Art Exhibition), Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura puertorriqueña (IPC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
CCC: Caribes (CCC:Caribbeans), Casa Cortés, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2012   Art in Golf, FIST Art Foundation, Ritz Carlton Dorado Beach Resort, Dorado, Puerto Rico
Caribbean Crossroads of the World, Queens Museum of Art, New York, USA
Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe (San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial: Latin America and the Caribbean), Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española; Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Afrolatinos, Museo de Arte de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico
Pinceladas Olímpicas (Olympic Brushstrokes), Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP), Ponce, Puerto Rico 
2011   Self- Portraits Project, Centre d'exposition Raymond Lasnier, Quebec, Canada
Grafías puertorriqueñas (Puerto Rican Graphics), Sala Corrala de Santiago, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain 
2010   Careos y Relevos (Confrontation and Concord), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Paraíso perdido (Paradise Lost), The Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts, Frederiksted, Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Encuentros: espacio, tiempo y vida (Encounters:Space, Time and Life), Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP), Ponce, Puerto Rico
5ta Bienal Internacional de Grabado del Duero (5th Douro International Printmaking Biennial), Alijó y Porto, Portugal 
2009   Muestra Nacional de Arte (National Art Exhibition), Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bocetos encontrados; Exposición en homenaje a Augusto Marín, (Found Sketches; Exhibition in Homage to Augusto Marín), Sala Lexus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Meet Your Printmaker, Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington, D.C., USA
Los Renegados (The Renegades), Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Décima Bienal de La Habana (10th Havana Biennial), Havana, Cuba
2008   La Huella del Grabado II, [Episodios &Itinerarios II], (The Imprint of Graphic II, [Episodes and Itineraries II]), Centro Cultural Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Estampería Quiteña, Quito, Ecuador
Seeing Peace, San Francisco University, San Francisco, California, USA
Objetivos Móviles (Moving Targets), Proyecto'ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina 
2007   Tradiciones afrocaribeñas: espiritualidad, arte y resistencia (Afro-Caribbean traditions: Spirituality, Art and Resistance, Casa Escuté, Carolina, Puerto Rico
27th Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts: The Unbound Eyes of Anxiousness, MGLC International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Colección de Arte Cortés (The Cortés Art Collection), Museo de Arte de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico
America’s Paradise and Isla Del Encanto, Contemporary Art from the American Caribbean School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA
PULPO, Galería Nacional, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cenizas quedan (Ashes Remain), Casa quemada de Antonio Martorell, Cayey, Puerto Rico
Circa 07, Galería 356, Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico  
Óptika 07, Galería de Arte Chardón, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Restos, estudios arteológicos (Remains, Archaeological Studies), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exposición y subasta de pinturas (Exhibition and Auction of Paintings), Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2006   Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Autocontemplación (Self-contemplation), Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Objetos de Gravamen y Causa: Interpretaciones Contemporáneas sobre el tema del consumo (Cause and Effect of Liens: Contemporary Interpretations on the Subject of Consumption), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Muestra Nacional de Arte (National Art Exhibition), Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Emergencias, convergencias y divergencias (Emergencies, Convergences and Divergences), Galería 356, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Seres, Galería 356, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Figuraciones (Figurations), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico 
2004   Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan América Latina y el Caribe, Exposición Inscritos, Proscritos y Saqueos (San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial: Latin America and the Caribbean, Permitted, Outlawed and Looted Exhibition), Museo de las Américas, San Juan; Casa del Libro, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2003    Visitas a 'El Velorio': Homenaje a Francisco Oller (Visiting 'The Wake': Homage to Francisco Oller),, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), San Juan, Puerto Rico 
2002   Entre Amigos (Between Friends), Galería Tamara, San Juan, Puerto Rico
34e Festival Internacional de la pintura, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France 
2001    III Florence Biennale, International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Florence, Florence, Italy
Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Museo El Fortín de Conde Mirasol, Vieques, Puerto Rico
Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Performance, Navy Grounds, Vieques, Puerto Rico
2000   Puerto Rico à París (Puerto Rico in Paris), Salle des Pas Perdus, Sede de la UNESCO, Paris, France
1999   Summer Group Show, Elite Fine Art Gallery, Florida, USA
Latin American Spectrum, Elite Fine Art Gallery, Florida, USA 
1998   Summer Group Show, Elite Fine Art Gallery, Florida, USA
100 Años después...(100 Years Later...), Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cien en la Sien, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
1996   III Bienal de Pintura del Caribe y Centroamérica (3rd Biennial of Painting of the Caribbean and Central America), Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Presencia Indígena en el Arte Puertorriqueño (Indigenous Presence in Puerto Rican Art), Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1993   Preferencias de artistas (Artists' Preferences), Chase Manhattan Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992   Encuentro: Once Galerías (Encounter:Eleven Galleries), Banco de Desarrollo Económico de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Arte puertorriqueño de Hoy (Puerto Rican Art Today), Galería Arawak, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 
1989   Presencia Africana en el Arte del Caribe (African Presence in Caribbean Art), Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1988   VI Bienal Iberoamericana de Arte del Instituto Cultural Domecq (6th Domecq Ibero-American Art Biennial), Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico
Awards
2009   Innovation and Change in Higher Education Award, Humanities in Action, Center for Academic Excellence, University of Puerto Rico       
2008   Premio a la Mejor Exhibicíon, 2007 (Best Exhibition Award, 2007), International Association of Art Critics (Association Internationale des Critiques d'Art, AICA), Puerto Rico Chapter             
2005   Premio a la Mejor Exhibicíon, 2004 (Best Exhibition Award, 2004) , International Association of Art Critics (Association Internationale des Critiques d'Art, AICA), Puerto Rico Chapter            
1998   Art Medal Asociación Puertorriqueña de Artistas Plásticos afiliada a Aiap (APAP), UNESCO           
1996    Prize for Artistic Excellence, National Fund for the Financing of Cultural Activities of Puerto Rico, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP)
1992    Premio a la mejor instalación, 1991 (Best Installation Award, 1991), International Association of Art Critics (Association Internationale des Critiques d'Art, AICA), Puerto Rico Chapter  
Collections
Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico, San Juan,Puerto Rico&
Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP), Ponce, Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ramapo College of New Jersey Museum, New Jersey, USA
Proyecto´ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina      

OCTOBER GALLERY ARTISTS