RAD in Kindergarten
Forever Young
RAD has taught in museums, public and independent schools and community centers. Student Artwork
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ABOUT Rick Anthony Diaz
RAD's art changed profoundly when he began to teach art to young children. He saw the world through their eyes, and wished that their future was free from racism, sexism, homophobia, war, and climate change. He started using child-related imagery in his art as a way to speak to these issues. His work explores the challenges inherent in hoping for a better future.
Originally from Los Angeles, RAD is an artist and educator based in Harlem, New York. He majored in Fine Arts with a minor in Art Education from The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He has been in several solo and group exhibitions in New York City and abroad. He received a grant from the NYC City Artist Coporation. He did a month-long artist residency at Watershed Studios in Galway, Ireland.
ARTIST STATEMENT for the TOYLAND WARS SERIES
The Toyland Wars series is a response to the January 6, 2021 insurrection in the United States Capital building. Being a child of immigrant parents who left Cuba to evade a dictatorship, as well as an art teacher of young students, this event has affected me. I’m deeply concerned for the future of my students and the world they will inherit. Therefore, I use imagery of toys to speak on this subject from the perspective of a child. It’s also a way for my own naive inner-child to understand and cope with the fact that fascism could proliferate in the United States.
Tropes and compositions used in historical paintings by artists such as Eugène Delacroix, Jacques-Louis David and John Singleton Copley have been adopted into this series, more specifically the tradition of narrative painting. In this "what if" scenario, the toy green army have attacked Toyland in a hostile coup. They get closer to securing City Hall with every battle. Luckily, the rest of the toys in Toyland, who normally keep to themselves, have finally decided to band together to fight their common foe. Paintings and drawings in the Toyland Wars series feature toys in moments of unity, bravery and defeat.