The Diplomat in Spain

Last Wednesday the exhibition Alegoría dominicana (Dominican Allegory), by the sculptor Juan Trinidad, was presented at an event hosted by the Embassy of the Dominican Republic at the Centro Sociocultural José de Espronceda (Calle Almansa, 9). The exhibition will be open to the public until 24 May. The exhibition will be closed on holidays and weekends.

Dominicans have their own special characteristics: they are cheerful, spontaneous, authentic, easy to socialise with… These details are clear in every Creole, but sometimes they don’t let these traits come out when they are in front of foreigners. That is the perception that sculptor Juan Trinidad has, and that is why he tries to highlight the true Dominican identity in each of his pieces.

His sculpture belongs to the Dominican tradition and to the Afro-Antillean identity, with totemic carvings in oak wood and centuries-old mahogany dominating, as well as stone and marble carvings. Juan Trinidad says that he has always wanted people to read the different angles of his works. There you can perceive the spontaneity that characterises the people of this town. We are transcendent,” he says, “we are a country of dedicated people, with a desire to better ourselves, we are a country of goodness”.

Trinidad, a native of Bonao, wants to show that there are not only bad things here, as some people sometimes insist on making people see. That is why he wanted to change the methodology of his works. Now they have colour, a symbol of the joy of the Dominicans. This change has even allowed him to bring his works to be part of the collections of lovers of these pieces, but also to broaden his public: Europeans, Asians….. His relationship with wood. The experienced artist says that while some people see rubbish in a piece of fallen tree, he sees the opportunity to create a new life.

Juan Trinidad has participated in important exhibitions, such as: Tactile Exhibition at the Louvre Museum, International Ice Biennials in Canada, World Plastic Art Gold Book and other important international events. He has also won the National Biennial of Visual Arts and the National Biennial of Bonao.