We recently connected with Vasco Del Rey and have shared our conversation below.

Vasco, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

i think the best thing my father ever did for me was bringing me to clean offices and homes as a child. It instilled the spirit of the immigrant and the reality that million of us have and continue to face day to day. Almost 20 years later these experiences continue to offer me wisdom and guidance. When i feel like things are too much i remember those who came before and those struggle with me to make the best with what we got.

Vasco, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I migrated to Los Angeles from Mexico at the age of 8. I had spent most of my life living in the mountains of Chiapas prior to my arrival. I had experienced culture shock to such a high degree that I found myself amazed at almost everything in sight. Art became a practice of self care at early age but it wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school when I knew art would become my north star. A documentary “Radiant Child” of Jean Micheal Basquiat sparked something in my teenager heart that hasn’t left me since.
Painting is my main practice, which in the past has included murals and collaborations with partners like Adidas or Osea; as well as an NFT for the billboard music awards.
Photography being my second practice reached new tides after some of my photos were published on Vogue’s & Flaunt Magazine’s website.
In the last year I have begun curating art workshops with Tea at Shiloh; ranging from figure drawing evenings to retablo nights.
As of recently however, studio painting has consumed most of my time. I have begun curating a new body of work for my next exhibition which dives deeper into my interrelationship of my american and mexican identity.
Heavy focus on the immigrant spirit.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to display the humble yet indestructible spirit of the immigrant. i am continuously amazed and inspired by the work every one of them displays. To every valet, line cook, baby sitter, fruit vendor, father, doctor, lawyer, artist; i applaud you all; you are the backbone of this beautiful country. Although I have not been back home in 18 years, i know i’m not alone in this struggle.
This realization alone brings me peace and invites me to look at my art practice as a way to showcase the beauty in our communities.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During my 19th birthday i found myself without a bed, sleeping on a couch with bed bugs. I lived hardly on 5$ daily. I used to walk over to the library and lament my life because it was one of the only places where I could have free papers and pencils to draw. At this time my two closest friends passed away back to back. It was my first experience with grief. I was lost and felt like i had little to no support. It was my break or make. I think life burns us down, like a cleanse. The more we resist it the more it burns. I embraced the pain; all the uncertainly that came with it. Grief made me value the little I had, it taught me that at my core I am in need of three things: community, art and romance.
Gratitude from the grief felt opened more doors than i could’ve ever imagined. It taught me just how strong I am.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vascoartist.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/vascodelrey
• Tiktok: mexicanavocado