I am Dre Burciaga, an oil painter who aims to reconcile themes through Chicano identity politics. My current art is a response to the historical devaluation of artisans and the westernization of cultural crafts and traditions. My paintings portray everyday Latin culture, artisan craftsmanship, and Mexican folk art, infusing them with a quasi-divine aura. This creates a bridge between the ordinary and the sacred, emphasizing their interconnectedness and deep indigenous roots. Drawing inspiration from Mexican muralism and Latin American gothic aesthetics, my art shifts between traditional still life, Mexican American storytelling, surreal world-building and landscapes, and contemporary abstraction. This fosters a conversation around the discourse of folk and fine art. 

 In my work, I reference tribal and cultural iconography, remixing these elements through my spiritual intuition, my experience growing up in the border town of El Paso, Texas, and a yearning for my people, homeland, and Hispanic heritage. The recurrent subjects of the pot and clay bodies serve as vessels for these values and have opened up a new language of exploration through materiality and our connection to the earth. I focus on creating a sense of preciousness through intricate details, ethereal beauty, and haunting rhythmic formations and patterns. My goal is to highlight the devotional, sacred, and ritualistic aspects of primitive and folk art, evoking a spiritual experience rooted in shared traditions and ancestral practices.

From The Sun 

It’s colder here,

The rain is coming.

The light is bluer near the harbor.

The tones are cooler, 

corner darker,

Black ice,

 sleet covered streets.

I’ll stay inside. 

Spiraling out from the white,

Stacking layers, 

rendering night.

My hands ache.

Lost in detail,

 leave space to learn.

Patterns merge and the orange burns.

You can build walls,

My home is in the sand. 

Cinnamon and sugar,

With sunsets grand. 

I am the coyote,

You don’t own the sun.

In my touch,

 Do you hear the drum?

Of haunted spaces, 

my ancestors' frontier.

Adorning craftsmanship, 

is your souvenir.

But I’ll let the flowers grow among the sky.

The stars can twinkle along the sides.

I find warmth in this plastic light. 

Artesanía  

I miss the Desert. 

The water was this burnt sienna yellow ochre color,

Sand water.

Yet we swam. 

The sand turned to Mud,

The Mud to clay.

Molded and manipulated by hand

Fired,

Touched by the sun.

Craftsmanship and tradition 

Utility and art.

To carry and hold,

 Filled with heritage 

Or empty and decorative.

A beautiful void.

Translation is always distorted. 

A Transformation.

Dre Burciaga  

Painter / Art Professor / http://www.dreburciaga.com / andreacburciaga@gmail.com / @beatsbydr.drea / (915) 929-7258  

Education

2023-2025 MFA, Leroy E. Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD   

2017-2021 BFA, Studio Art Painting and Drawing, University of North Texas, Denton, TX   

Teaching and Professional Experience

2024-2025 Graduate Position Assistant, Leroy E. Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art

2024-2025 Graduate Teaching Intern, General Fine Arts Senior Thesis Studio Course  

Maryland Institute College of Art  

2023 Graduate Teaching Intern, Studio Art Painting Techniques for Illustration Majors  

Maryland Institute College of Art  

2021-2022 Substitute Teacher (K-12), Denton Independent School District, Denton, TX 

Solo Exhibitions

2025 From The Sun,, Fred Lazarus IV Center, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

2024 Día De Muertos, Fred Lazarus IV Center, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

Group Exhibitions

2024 Caesura, Leroy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA Fall Exhibition, Fox 3 Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art

2024 History of a Hand, Stamp Gallery, University of Maryland 

2023 Conjure, Leroy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA Fall Exhibition, Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery at Fred Lazarus IV Center, Maryland Institute College of Art 

2022 30 Artists Under 30 North Texas, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX

2022 Car Wash Gallery, Car Wash Gallery, Denton, TX  

2022 Annual LGBTQAI+ Exhibition, 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX 

2021 Levels, Stain Gallery, Dallas, TX 

2021 Artovation Student Show, Texas Association of Schools of Art, Dallas, TX 

2020 First Annual LGBTQAI+ Exhibition, 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX 

2019 Experimental Painting and Drawing Exhibition, College of Visual Arts and Design Gallery, University of North Texas 

2019 Intermediate Figure Drawing Exhibition, College of Visual Arts and Design Gallery, University of North Texas

2018 Drawing I Exhibition, College of Visual Arts and Design Gallery, University of North Texas 

Certifications & Awards

2024 Certificate in the College Teaching of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art 

2017-2021 Dean’s List, University of North Texas