FROM THE IMRESSIONS COLLECTION
2025 | By Pablo Matute
Description
In this evocative piece, Matute transforms the serious posture of construction work into a moment of childlike imagination. A figure stands poised, caulking gun extended like a weapon from an action movie, capturing that liminal space where a child sees their parent's tools as objects of power and adventure. Rendered in precise charcoal against mint green construction board, the drawing celebrates the dual reality of immigrant family experience—while adults use these tools to build new foundations in unfamiliar lands, their children reimagine the same instruments as props in games of make-believe, finding joy and agency in mimicking the labor that shapes their world.
Pablo Francisco Matute (b. 1999, Ecuador) is a visual artist based in Miami, whose work is shaped by his upbringing in South Florida. Matute’s art delves into the intersection of labor, culture, and space, using unconventional surfaces and transparent mediums like charcoal to capture the layered essence of his memories. This unique approach evokes the multifaceted nature of Latino identity and the physical and emotional labor that contributes to the shaping of personal and collective spaces.
A graduate of Florida International University with a Bachelor of Arts, Matute has exhibited in numerous spaces, including the Doral Museum of Contemporary Art, The University of Nova’s Gallery 217, and Laundromat Art Space, where he is also an ongoing resident. A recipient of the 2024 Artist Innovation Grant from the Broward Cultural Division, his work has been featured in various publications and exhibitions, continuing to contribute to the cultural dialogue of Miami's vibrant art scene.