My practice primarily explores themes of diaspora, magical realism, and the inherent connection between person and land.
As a second-generation member of the Puerto Rican diaspora, I use painting to investigate a place I only hold in familial memory, and that is frequently distorted through stereotypes fabricated under the direction of colonialism. In my paintings, I depict figures interacting with and surrounded by cultural symbols, including wrought iron fences, tropical flora, cowrie shells, parrots, boxing gloves, and ritual items such as Florida Water. In these collaged images, fragments of reconstructed identity lie, blurring the line between communal, personal, and imagined histories. In this act, identity becomes transcendent, and healing and resistance become achievable.
Simone Quiles is an artist residing in Los Angeles, CA. They have exhibited at Hashimoto Contemporary (Los Angeles), TLALOC Studios, Superchief Gallery, Art Share L.A., Woman Made Gallery Chicago, and the Gene Siskel Film Center (Chicago). Recently, they’ve gained interest in curation. In 2025, they co-curated an 11 person exhibition, The Making of a Pearl, and in 2024, they solo-curated and produced a 10 person exhibition, Like Sand for Sleepy Eyes.