Chaotic Beauty by Roberto Lopez Rios
Acrylic on hard canvas
Only a chosen few can witness the duality we all possess.
Meet the artist: Roberto Lopez Rios
In the AFTI Store:
blank notecard 5×7 with matching linen-color envelope
"Art is my passion and foundation to my mental stability in a place that is constantly challenging your mental strength. It provides me an escape and light to project beautiful art work through my vision and creativity."
11×14
Medium: Black and red pen, white charcoal, and gesso on paper
After being sentenced to life in prison at sixteen years old, Roberto Lopez Rios says “…throughout my experience, it was the love my mother showed me and her actions that laid the foundation that held me down.” Lopez Rios served twenty-three years in prison. Informed by his experiences on the inside, he and his childhood friend Avra Anagnostis founded “Juvenile Sentencing Reform MN,” an organization that advocates for the end of sentencing juveniles to life without parole. Lopez Rios was released a year after Minnesota’s Heinous Crimes Act was amended in May 2023.
Cuestionando la fe was created during the process of the hearing for his release and represents the generations of powerful Mexican women that have shaped his belief system. Although he may sometimes falter, as represented by Santa Maria de Guadalupe’s facelessness and the men turning their backs on her, he knows that she laid the foundation for Mexico and Mexican people the way that his mother, Julia, did for him. Women, he emphasizes, are sacred and valued.
11×14
Medium: color pencil on pastel paper
"Inspired by the journey we all must walk. Life hands us unexpected turns to learn from, yet most of us find ourselves trapped and tangled. We must learn from our struggles how to free ourselves. Only you can set yourself free to fulfill your destiny of infinite possibilities."
11 × 14
Medium: color pencil on pastel paper
"Inspired by the journey we all must walk. Life hands us unexpected turns to learn from, yet most of us find ourselves trapped and tangled. We must learn from our struggles how to free ourselves. Only you can set yourself free to fulfill your destiny of infinite possibilities."
Print only
The inspiration for this piece came from activists that have caused permanent changes in society and the justice system in the form of equality and betterment of its people.
8x8 inch print
"Turmoil and unexpected turns of events darken the colors of light of hope within our souls. The opportunity for growth can shed the weight of the most somber shades and result in a person’s elevation of consciousness."
Artist: Roberto Lopez-Rios
Size: 11x14
Inspired by the growth process, blooming and fragile like all living things. We all feed off of each other in the cycle of life; submerged in dripping knowledge and finding our identities.
11 x 14
Inspired by the journey we all must walk. Life hands us unexpected turns to learn from, yet most of us find ourselves trapped and tangled. We must learn from our struggles how to free ourselves. Only you can set yourself free to fulfill your destiny of infinite possibilities.
11 x 14
Only time can create the perfect conditions to bring for a dream come true.
Medium: Acrylic paint
Turmoil and unexpected turns of events darken the colors of light of hope within our souls. The opportunity for growth can shed the weight of the most somber shades and result in a person’s elevation of consciousness.
Size: 18 x 24
Medium: Acrylic on stretched canvas
Aztec goddess. Mother of the gods who gave birth to the moon and stars.
Nature, time and human beings are constantly transforming. Society as a whole transforms the norms that change throughout our lives. To me the most important transformation takes place when someone becomes autonomous and true to themselves beyond any type of outside influence, allowing them to reach their full potential. Funny thing is that the stage in life before reaching such transformation, one must allow the embracement of an entire community to understand one's self.
10 x 30
Medium: Acrylic on stretched canvas
What we can see and how we view it is the difference between who you are and who you will become. I cannot fly, but can place myself amongst those that can by changing the angle of my perspective, as I reach for my own goals in life that are beyond the limitations of the sky.
38 x 24
Medium: acrylic on stretched canvas