
ABOUT DESIREE
Desiree Ruiz Velázquez is an artist, poet, and fashion designer, born in Puerto Rico in 1996, now located in Orlando, Florida. Following her college graduation with a BFA in Fashion Design, Desiree wrote, illustrated, and published the poetry book "El Hechizo de la Amapola", with only 18 years. She then immersed in the fashion and art industries, exhibiting her works at the Orlando Museum of Art, the Orlando International Airport, City Arts, and Studio Art Farm gallery along with her women’s evening wear fashion collections walking down the runway during Orlando International Fashion Week.
Her passion towards the arts led her to enter the art gallery industry, initially specializing in fine art consulting while working at galleries in Central Florida, which later led her to pursue her full-time career as an artist, specializing in the oil study of precious stones and ethereal female portraits.

ABOUT HER WORK

Desiree's work seeks to shape what has always fascinated her; the hidden. Her curiosity and indulgence into divination and spiritual ascension practices, —such as Tarot readings, pendulum dowsing, shadow work, and crystal healing—, led her to study the esoteric principles and beliefs through her art. Symbolism plays a huge part in most of her works, often connected to meanings and representations found in Tarot, crystals, fortune telling, existence itself and its many unresolved mysteries, the afterlife, and the spiritual realm.
Most of her work embraces the ethereal, romanticized dark ambiance fueled by the fear yet fascination towards the unknown.
She explores the beauty and mysticism of quartz as the most magical and alluring object created by earth along with the figurative presence of women as the most divine figure ever seen. Ruiz plays with themes of existentialism as she draws inspiration from the ideologies and principles of esotericism and the occult sciences, which seek to discover and understand hidden knowledge and existential mysteries through various forms of divination.
Each piece challenges the viewer to wonder about things we cannot grasp; the inexplicable, what still has no answer or form to the human mind and what has remained hidden and secret throughout our history when we talk about existence, reality, and the infinite possibilities beyond the material experience. Through her works, you can find yourself submerged in a world of mystifying, enchanting darkness as she finds beauty and exquisiteness in all that which is often mistaken and feared. She welcomes you to explore her subtle narratives of spiritual ascension, feminine divinity, and the "what if's".
The 25-year-old have had her works exhibited at the Orlando Museum of Art, the Orlando International Airport, and at City Arts as she occasionally joins Studio Art Farm Gallery in Mount Dora, Florida to do pop up exhibits and live painting events. Last year, in 2021, she hosted, organized, and curated her first solo exhibition, "UNCERTAINTY REALMS, The Art of the Unknown", where she exhibited over 42 original works of art.
CURRENTLY SHOWING
Winter Garden Farmers Market
Every Saturday
8am - 1pm
104 S Lakeview Ave, Winter Garden, FL 34787
SOLO SHOW
2021
"UNCERTAINTY REALMS, The Art of the Unknown", December 11th
Henao Contemporary Center, Orlando, Florida
GALLERY SHOWS
2021
Studio Art Farm Gallery's August - December Collection
Studio Art Farm Gallery, Mount Dora, Florida

2020
Monthly Pop-Up Shows and Live Painting
Studio Art Farm Gallery, Mount Dora, Florida
"Bella Donna", Group Exhibition
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida
Group Exhibition
Sitting Swan Art Gallery, Orlando, Florida
Group Exhibition
Sitting Swan Art Gallery, Orlando, Florida
"FusionFest Diversitastic Festival" Group Exhibition
City Arts Gallery, Orlando, Florida
“The Art of FusionFest, Orlando’s Celebration of Diversity”, Group Exhibition
Orlando International Airport, Orlando, Florida
"1st Thursdays Exhibition, Feminine Vision", Group Exhibition
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida
"3rd Thursdays Exhibition, H2Show", Group Exhibition
City Arts Gallery, Orlando, Florida
SELECTED INTERVIEWS
PUBLISHED WORKS
2018
"El Hechizo de la Amapola” - Spanish poetry book written and illustrated by Desiree Ruiz. Published by Caligrama Editorial in 2018.