Michelle Altagracia Perez (b.1988 Manhattan, NY) is a Dominican-American painter and illustrator working primarily in oils and gouache paints. Inspired by her curiosity for nature and color theory, her work depicts whimsical yet macabre compositions of animals and florals as well as representational abstractions of color. Chel’s childhood years living in the Dominican Republic allowed her to use her environment as her playground, spending her days observing critters in water and land, climbing trees for fruits, and embracing the night sky during daily power outages. She took up needle and thread to cross stitch in between receiving large boxes of crayons that her parents brought back from visiting family in NYC. Her playful regard for nature juxtaposed with the bewilderment of man-made abundance is often found in her work.
Chel received a B.F.A. in Illustration from Moore College of Art & Design in 2010 and is now based in Savannah, Georgia. You can find some of her prints, ornaments, and postcards locally in the gift shop at The Jepson Center, Locally Made, The Gift Shoppe by Polka Dots, The Historic Kennedy Pharmacy at The Davenport House, and Sulfur Studios.
