Firelei Báez

Born in 1981 in the Dominican Republic, Firelei Báez immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of 8. In her creations, Báez explores the relationship between the experiences of diaspora populations, their traditional imagery, and colonial history. Many of her works blur boundaries between space and time, with colourful creatures from Dominican folklore superimposed onto discovered historical documents. As a result, the artist reappropriates these historical objects and incorporates these mythical figures, or symbols of resistance, straight into territorial colonial representations, as exemplified in the painting Untitled (Terra Nova) (2020).

For this acquisition, the MMFA gratefully acknowledges the W. Bruce C. Bailey Fête-champêtre Fund, Douglas Bensadoun Fund, Diana Billes Fund, and Fund of the MMFA’s Women of Influence Circle.