In her essay “On Photography”, Susan Sontag paralleled the photograph with death: “the vulnerability of lives heading toward their own destruction”, “an inventory of mortality.” Daniel Pabón Velázquez’s work, however, ponders on decay and thus likens the photograph to the human body, resulting in staggering —often times, expressionistic— replications of found photography that examine memory, preservation and deterioration.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pabón Velázquez received a BFA from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico in 2020. He was also selected to participate in the Independent Studies Program of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico in 2019.
His work has been presented in galleries, institutions and art fairs across Puerto Rico, the United States, Spain and Mexico, including Material Art Fair and NADA Miami. He has also worked as an educator, assistant and collaborator with various local artists and galleries for over a decade.
In 2025, Pabón Velázquez was selected for an artist residency at The Studios at MassMoCA—a pivotal period in the development of his current research into the photographic image and its deterioration. He is currently based in Villa Palmeras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Education
2020— BFA in Painting at Escuela de Artes Plasticas y Diseno, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2019 — Independent Studies Program, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2018 — Advanced studies in painting and critical theory at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Exhibitions
Solo:
2026 — Ruptura Emulsiva, Laboratorio Curatorial Mora’o, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2024 — Memoria Fragmentada, Hermanos Lucca, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2023 — El Recuerdo es Erosion, El Kilometro, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Duo:
2024 — PORTALES Y DESGASTES w/ Ada del Pilar Ortiz, Embajada, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collective
2026 — Equelecua, in collaboration with Embajada and El Apartamento, Madrid, Spain
2025 — Terreno Fertil, Galeria Surco, Bayamon, PR
2024 — Generation Next, Trailerpark Projects en El Schomburg, Chicago IL
2024 — Pintura Contemporánea de P FKN R, presented by Trailer Park Projects at Publica,
San Juan, Puerto Rico
2024 — Into The Abyss, Embajada, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2024 — Let There Be Light , presented by Embajada at Proxyco Gallery, New York, NY
2023 — Pluralismos, El Kilometro, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2021 — Espacios Imaginarios, Casa del Cuento e Historia Cayeyana, Cayey, Puerto Rico
2019 — Muestra Programa de Estudios Independientes, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2018 — Processes, Lorenzo Homar Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2018 — Tradition and Innovation,School of Plastic Arts and Design, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2017 — Rican Renaissance, Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, United States
2016— Identity, Taller Secreto, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Fairs
2025 — MATERIAL 2025 / Embajada, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
2019 — MECA Art Fair 2019 / Samson Projects, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Residencies
2025 — Studios at MassMoCA
Publications
2024 — Contemporary Art Daily
2024 — Art Viewer
2023 — Puerto Rico Art News