As Distillery of Modern Art approaches its debut, the space no longer feels like a blank canvas: it is emerging as a kaleidoscope of beauty and hard work. The latest artist to adorn our walls with their work is muralist Armando Chacon.
Although his creative journey began at a young age by winning a competitive art show against thousands of other adolescent artists, Armando did not fully start to pursue his artistic interests until later in life. Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Armando made his way to the United States at thirteen years old, where he completed his education. Upon graduating college, Chacon decided to move to South Florida, where his artistic career truly began to take off. Immersed in the Miami Art Scene, Armando discovered a love of painting in large format, and his passion for creating murals was born.
Armando refers to his artistic style as his own personal recipe, consisting of several different “ingredients.” Spirituality, surrealism, Mayan culture, and his own daily experiences all play a significant role in his work. Calm and collected, Chacon finds it necessary to be in a head space of complete concentration and focus before starting a new project. However, on days that this mindset is a little harder to achieve, Armando finds inspiration in the creation of abstract art as a release for his “excess energy.”
Finding a home at Distillery of Modern Art, his newest mural was inspired by the movement and composition of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” combined with surrealist elements of Salvador Dalí’s “Persistence of Memory.” Armando added his own touch of fluidity to the piece by adding water and waterfalls to complement the distillery process. When our doors open to the public, Chacon is most excited for people to “feel that they have entered a work of art, not just a pretty building.”