Nick Quijano Torres appreciates the universal appeal of small moments that communicate on a deeply personal level. He paints his life: born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, he spent his summers on "La Isla del Encanto," the enchanted island, through elementary school, when the family returned full-time to the island. He calls his paintings "collages" of memories from childhood. In this scene, he depicts himself standing beside his beloved grandmother on one side and his sister on the other; the three figures are connected through the children’s trusting touch. A portrait of his uncle Juan, a veteran, hangs above the family grouping, a gentle reminder of Puerto Rico’s steadfast contribution to safeguarding the American way of life. Torres views his art that invokes people from his past and present as a corrective; the story of his mixed race culture that he found was missing from the art he encountered in formal museum settings.

Stacy C. Hollander, “Nick Quijano Torres,” exhibition brochure for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020).