Tony Vazquez-Figueroa: Beyond this Matter
Delta #3
2024
resin and acrylic paint on canvas,
84 x 64 inches, 213.36 x 162.56 cm.
Wakashio
2024
resin and acrylic paint on canvas,
84 x 66 inches, 213.36 x 162.56 cm.
Canyon #2 Study
2025
resin and acrylic paint on canvas
12 x 9 inches, 30.48 x 22.86 cm.
Canyon #1 Study
2025
resin and acrylic paint on thermoformed plastic
10 x 8 inches, 25.4 x 20.32 cm.
Wakashio Study
2024
resin and acrylic paint on thermoformed plastic,
14 x 10 inches, 35.56 x 25.4 cm.
Ixtoc I
2025
resin, acrylic paint, and color pencil on canvas
48 x 44 inches, 121.92 x 111.76 cm.
W/hole-Empress
2024
resin and acrylic paint on canvas
32 x 30 inches, 81.28 x 76.2 cm.
Opening Reception | March 7, 2025
Beyond this Matter
A brief introduction…
Tony Vázquez-Figueroa has long investigated oil’s significance—not just as a material but as a force shaping history, trades, and the environment. In his recent solo exhibition, Beyond this Matter, the artist pushes further, expanding on oil’s physical and symbolic weight while navigating into new chromatic territory. Color, minimally present in his work of recent years, now emerges through layers of red, ochre, green, turquoise, and indigo, mar king a significant evolution. Yet, at the core of each composition remains the striking black void, a signature element that anchors his ongoing dialogue with oil’s duality as both a resource and a force of destruction.
This shift deepens his past inquiries rather than departing from them. In works from his previous series of Black Mirror Paintings, the artist examined oil as a substance embedded with history and effect. Now, inspired by satellite imagery of oil spills, Vázquez-Figueroa’s compositions trace crude oil’s movement across water, referencing ecological disasters such as Amoco Cádiz, Exxon Valdez, and Delta.
At a certain moment in the exhibition however, it becomes evident that color breaks free from scientific mapping, evoking the landscapes affected by these catastrophes – coasts, coral reefs, and sandbanks. Abstraction dissolves, creating a meeting point where destruction and beauty coexist.
With Beyond this Matter, Vázquez-Figueroa challenges us to see beyond oil’s tangible form and consider its far-reaching consequences. This is not just an archive of environmental crises, but an invitation to reflect on our relationship with nature and indust ry, and the images that shape our perception of both.
About the Artist
Tony Vazquez-Figueroa (b. 1970, Caracas, Venezuela) has explored the substance of crude oil and its many manifestations with the intention of using his artistic skills and vision to analyze its effects on one of the richest global powers of the late 20th century – Venezuela. Using bitumen as a key material in the creation of works, Vazquez-Figueroa has developed a personal archive of paintings, sculptures, objects, and installations, that form the collective memory and heritage for himself and others experiencing this shared history. His deeply personal research into how oil-rich countries create unique physical, socio-economic, and cultural environments informs his artistic practice to create a body of work that distills the dystopic reality of over-industrialization.
Vazquez-Figueroa resides and works between Mexico City, Mexico, and Miami, Florida. He received his BFA in Film from Emerson College (Boston, MA) in 1992 and continued his art studies at the San Alejandro Academy (Havana, Cuba) and then at the New York Studio School under an awarded scholarship. In 2002, he received formal training at Slade School of Painting at the University College London, under the tutelage of Jenny Saville. His work is featured in public and private collections worldwide such as: The Pérez Art Museum Miami (Miami, FL), The Museum of Latin American Art California (Long Beach, CA), the UNIS Museum Guatemala (Fraijanes, Guatemala), the Black Gold Museum (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) among others.