Cande Aguilar (1972) was born in Brownsville, Texas. A self-taught artist, he has had a strong presence in the art scene of the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas. First, he became known for his accordion playing and more recently for his mixed media paintings.
In a recent visit to his studio, I heard the artist’s Spanish accent; saw his art collection, and caught a glimpse of his way of life. All of these aspects reflect the traditional culture of the Rio Grande Valley but his art is somewhat different. It has a forward-looking, abstract quality that reminds me of art made in large cosmopolitan cities.
For example, his work is full of references to the Pop Art movement. He incorporates comic strip motifs such as the enlarged Ben-Day dots, and plenty of references to our visual environment such as logos and newspaper clippings. He even includes famous characters such as Charlie Brown and Superman in his paintings. Art that makes use of references to popular culture was characteristic of progressive art centers like New York City during the 1960s.
But his work is not only about borrowing from Pop Art. There’s more to it. His scribbles, lines, stains, marks, collages, and surprising visual combinations reveal a contemporary style that seeks to innovate through a very playful, sometimes childlike aesthetic. He uses oil, acrylic, permanent marker, enamel marker, oil paint stick, oil pastels, spray paint, fabric paint, and various stains and inks.

In the Rio Grande Valley, he has had solo shows at the International Museum of Art and Science, the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. His work is gaining attention outside the Valley with a solo show at Cohn Drennan Contemporary and a collective exhibition at Craighead Green Gallery entitled New Texas Talent XVI.