Charo Oquet

Dominican, living in Miami 

Points of Joy, 2021

Found objects, fiberglass, resin, and paint

Courtesy the artist

Points of Joy is a vibrant sculpture that celebrates the Afro-Caribbean roots of Miami’s Latinx diasporic culture. Offering an alternative to traditional public monuments, Oquet has created a “sacred object” that aims to be a site of pure joy for communities that have experienced racial, political, and economic oppression. Using vivid color, radical forms, and found materials, her totemic assemblage draws inspiration from the collective Black Caribbean experience in South Florida.

Charo Oquet’s work has been presented at the Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Italy; The 1st. Asuncion Biennial, Salazar Museum, Paraguay; Havana Biennial, Cuba; Casal Solleric, Spain; Ballhaus Naunynstraße, Germany; Nikolaj Kunsthal, Denmark; Kunstnerne Hus, Norway; and Edsvik Konsthall, Sweden; The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, Washington, D.C.; Fowler Museum, Los Angeles; and the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami. Her work is permanent collections of the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Spain; The Bass, Miami Beach; NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale; the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Miami; the New Zealand National Museum and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand; Museo de Arte Moderno, Dominican Republic; and the World Bank.

Photography by Zachary Balber.