Bryan Cruz, Inner Demons, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 61 × 76 cm (24 × 30in)
Bryan Cruz, Against The Pack, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 61 × 91 cm (24 x 36in)
Bryan Cruz
Cruz’s creative journey is shaped by personal experience. He sees art as a way to process grief, depression, and anxiety. In recent years, this exploration has developed into a distinctive body of single-line abstract works, through which he confronts the emotional weight of loss while creating space for resilience and renewal. Though often centered on intimate subject matter, his paintings use vibrant color palettes that draw viewers in, encouraging reflection and dialogue.
Cruz’s art is not only personal but deeply communal. He is most fulfilled when audiences engage with his work and feel empowered to share their own stories, creating a cycle of empathy and connection. His influences include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock, Keith Haring, and Pablo Picasso.
A: An unspoken code that is prevalent is the idea that each person should be their own individual, as long as it doesn’t deviate from the societal norm. Overall, I think the idea of individuality is alright, but under restricted parameters, it hurts us. What makes us so fascinating is our differences and how we navigate the world around us. We should not be one homogenous group of people. We tend to isolate those who “go too far” in how they present themselves, which creates judgment of one another rather than connection or an attempt to understand.
Q: How does your practice, or this particular work, engage with or respond to these codes?
A: The pieces I present show two different versions of unspoken codes. The first piece, Inner Demons demonstrates the idea that people have their own battles going on within themselves. I was raised by a Latino father, who tended to not discuss feelings or what was on our mind.
The next piece, Break From The Herd, is about creating your own identity even at the cost of what your upbringing told you. Being a gay Latino man growing up in a very red state, it was hard to be my authentic self without scrutiny. However, I knew that for my sake, I needed to live with my own identity.
Q: How do you navigate the balance between individuality and collective life — finding and standing by your own voice while also being connected to and supported by others?
A: I found it a challenge at first. There is a delicate balance of creating your own identity and how you want to be known within this society. I ultimately realized that I have to try to understand where others are coming from with their judgement. I, in turn, could not judge them until I have learned more about them. I think we often judge at face value when someone’s opinions or beliefs do not line up with our own. However, that creates more division, and I would rather know all the facts. I want people to show me the same grace, though this does not always happen, but at least I know I did my part.
Q: What has your path as an artist revealed to you about resilience, belonging, or empowerment in your own life?
A: Being an artist has allowed me to be in different spaces, to meet a wide variety of people. Painting has offered me the opportunity to raise awareness about important issues, such as mental health and queer identity. The best feeling is when people ask questions and get to know more about the work, instead of judging it by the first glance and walking away. Art has taught me to take both the good and the bad with how my work is perceived. As an artist, it has allowed me to create a thicker skin, and teach me to pick myself up and keep creating no matter what.
Q: Can you share what guided your choice of the work included in Unspoken Codes, and what you hope it might evoke for viewers?
A: I hope that the viewers will sit with both of my work. Digest it, and see where I am coming from, even if it is not their medium of choice. I hope to have engaging conversations, and that people will be able to open up to me. I always look forward to hearing everyone’s individual stories of where they fit in this world.