Roehl “RACO” Acosta – Artist
My work consists of three distinct styles, yet all have a commonality. Whether it is surreal, abstract or sculptural, all are represented in symbols or geometric shapes. My renderings often are not intentional or planned and often do not fit the medium. Once focused on an idea, I clearly see which medium will be best suited for its portrayal.
Fascinated by textures, I approach my paintings with a different eye. I am adventurous and I am seeking for more, no longer am I satisfied with textures alone, I started incorporating materials into my two-dimensional works.
My father’s love of woodworking is where I developed a love for the intricacies of wood. This took me in one direction and my father’s passion for cars took me in another. They were parallel paths, which at that time seemed irrelevant for the things I would be doing in the future. I learned welding, metalworking and custom painting in my father’s car shops that gave me more opportunity to advance my future artwork. This is evident in my current work, mixed media, and metal sculptures.
From that point on, my journey into sculptures began. Evolving, my sculptures became separate entities while retaining a strong connection between the mixed media and the paintings. Pursuing Fine Arts in college, majoring in Industrial Design, my work took a complete 360-degree turn. My work started showing my fascination with geometric forms, both paintings, and sculptures which continues to this day.
Since migrating in the United States in 2012, my exploration of materials unavailable in his native Philippines took his works another notch.
Artist Bio
Roehl Acosta showed a natural aptitude for the arts from an early age. It’s likely that this interest was inspired by his own father’s artistic background as a watercolorist. The young Acosta began taking on numerous art classes and workshops in a secondary school which then led him to his more serious commitment to a Fine Arts degree at The University of Santo Tomas in 1985. Acosta’s primary interest focused on Industrial Design.
Many of his earlier works incorporate this design element through the use of strong geometric forms and contrasting planes of colors. Supported by his knowledge of design, Acosta began to refine his artistic abilities by exploring expressions of surrealism through his paintings. He commands a unique ability to incorporate sublime aspects of a figure or feeling across time within a single view. He ‘sees’ these facets as one and reflects them through abstraction, thus capturing on a single canvas what we might eventually see – but only in hindsight and through the lens of time.
Eventually, Acosta yearned to expand upon his use of materials which would allow him to add dimension to his paintings, both literally and figuratively. This meant he needed to not only incorporated new material but also new techniques. He soon moved beyond his traditional painting processes and into a mixed medium by incorporating material that has a visual and textural contrast to the flat canvas. Eventually, and what would seem a natural transition, Acosta looked for yet a new dimension for his expressions. He wanted to find an entirely new medium to his artistic views.
This led to his current 3D sculptural work which looking back, he’d say was likely influenced by his father. The senior Acosta had a passion for cars and through his example, imparted to his son the technical knowledge of welding and metalsmithing. Roehl wanted to challenge himself by and through the manipulation of these otherwise unmalleable materials.
Today Acosta’s sculptures are unique, expertly crafted and capture all of the design elements that were at the origin of his career including; color, line, shape, texture, shape, form and perhaps most notably unity. Thus Acosta has managed to reach a pinnacle as an artist – the superb mastery of his craft while incorporating all the artistic perspectives of his influences and passions.
ROEHL ‘RACO’ ACOSTA
Painter · Sculptor · Designer · Educator
Teaching History
2015-2016 Bootz Cultural Arts Center, Royal Palm Beach, FL
Instructor: Technical Aspects of Drawing and Painting
1996-2004 Teodoro Valencia Foundation, Manila, Philippines Instructor: Painting
Shows/Exhibitions/Awards
2018 Lighthouse Art Center Museum, Art of Association,
Tequesta, Fl
2018 Nathan Rosen Museum, Art 2018
Boca Raton, FL
2018 Artserve, Art Bravo
Fort Lauderdale, FL
2017 Armory Art Center, Artistic Happenings
West Palm Beach, FL
2016 Broward Art Guild Gallery, Into the Light
Broward County, FL
2016 Lighthouse Art Center Museum, Art of Association
Tequesta, FL
2016 CJR Gallery, Above and Beyond
West Palm Beach, FL
2015 Lighthouse Art Center Museum, Art of Association
Tequesta, FL
2015 Florida Fairgrounds, Artnado
West Palm Beach, FL
2014 Lighthouse Art Center Museum, Go Figure
Tequesta, FL
2014 Clematis Art Center, Continuum/Artsynergy
West Palm Beach, FL
2013 APB Gallery, Art in Park Summer Exhibit
Lake Park, FL
2013 Lighthouse Art Center Museum, Art of Association
Tequesta, FL
2013 Wellington Art Society, Artfest on the Green
Wellington, FL
2012 West Best Gallery, Wellington Art Society Exhibition
West Palm Beach, FL
Honors/Awards (USA)
2012 Best in Show, West Best Gallery
2013 Honorable Mention, Artfest on the Green
2016 Best in Show (Sculpture), Art of Association
2017 First Place (Sculpture), Armory Art Center
Professional Associations
1997 National Commission for Culture in Arts, Manila, Philippines
2012 Wellington Art Society, Signature Member (Former Board Member)
2013 Delray Art League
2014 Artists of Palm Beach
2017 Broward Art League
2018 Artserve