María Josefina Melero

Melero earned a BFA with a major in printmaking at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. She’s been a recipient of several awards, amongst them: First Prize at the Eleventh San Juan Biennial of Latin American and Caribbean Engraving (1996), Honorable Mention at Certamen de Arte Joven, Museo de Arte de Ponce (1999) and at Certamen de Artes Plásticas del Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan (2000). She has participated in several solo and group exhibitions. 

She works with mixed media through a balance between the abstract and the figurative integrating printmaking, painting and drawing. In her work she explores the relationship between the urban and the human existence. Melero’s art is a distinctive blend of whimsy, wit, and storytelling, often combining vibrant illustrations. Her work is defined by lively, expressive imagery, a bright and varied color palette, and an aesthetic that balances playful charm with refined sophistication.

Paintings

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María Josefina Melero | Tondo Rojo | Mixed Media on Canvas | 16” Diam. The circular composition is set against a textured, vibrant purple and deep red background. It features a dense, rhythmic arrangement of whimsical and symbolic organic forms, including a central cluster of stylized purple grapes flanked by an elongated green leaf and a yellow, fan-like shape. In the lower-right section, two small, pink bulbous figures with serene human-like faces sit nestled together among dark purple petal-like forms. Various symbolic icons are scattered throughout, such as a four-leaf clover, a horseshoe, and a small blue eye, all interconnected by thin, undulating orange and pink lines that mimic vines or roots.
María Josefina Melero | Tondo Rojo | Mixed Media on Canvas | 16” Diam.

Tondo Rojo 

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María Josefina Melero | La Flor | Mixed Media on Canvas | 16” Diam. The circular composition features a whimsical and symmetrical arrangement of vibrant, stylized nature and figures against a soft, textured background. At the center stands a large floral structure with a scalloped light blue top, a central red blossom, and large pink heart-shaped leaves at its base. The scene is populated with various insects, including blue and purple butterflies, yellow bumblebees, and small red beetles. In the upper center, a small, pale purple four-legged creature with a serene human-like face stands within a pink cloud-like opening, all surrounded by a dense border of colorful, multi-toned circles and organic shapes.

La Flor 

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María Josefina Melero | El Crecimiento de las Hojas | Mixed Media on Canvas | 16” diam. The circular composition features a whimsical and densely layered arrangement of stylized organic forms and hidden figures. At the top, two pale orange human faces in profile emerge from a pink cloud, flanking a single vertical green leaf. A smaller, blue face is nestled among bulbous blue shapes in the center. The scene is filled with a variety of colorful, patterned botanical elements, including spotted pods, striped leaves, and circular bubbles in shades of blue, red, yellow, and purple. A small, reddish-brown lizard is visible among the foliage in the lower-left, all set against a soft background of pale greens, grays, and white clouds.
María Josefina Melero | El Crecimiento de las Hojas | Mixed Media on Canvas | 16” diam.
MJM El Crecimiento de las Hojas CU I

El Crecimiento de las Hojas 

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María Josefina Melero | La Noche | Mixed Media on Canvas | 8 x 16” The horizontal, surreal composition features whimsical and symbolic elements on a textured, multi-colored background. In the lower right, a person reclines on a patterned mattress with a small, green humanoid figure seated nearby. From a blue crescent moon above, three light purple, petal-like forms stream toward them. The left side includes colorful floating flowers, a white feather with a face, and various winged insects. In the upper right corner, a cluster of blue clouds contains several serene human faces.
María Josefina Melero | La Noche | Mixed Media on Canvas | 8 x 16” Up close of the horizontal, surreal composition features whimsical and symbolic elements on a textured, multi-colored background. In the lower right, a person reclines on a patterned mattress with a small, green humanoid figure seated nearby. From a blue crescent moon above, three light purple, petal-like forms stream toward them. The left side includes colorful floating flowers, a white feather with a face, and various winged insects. In the upper right corner, a cluster of blue clouds contains several serene human faces.

La Noche 

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painting with a shimmering metallic gold background features a central, surreal pink and magenta creature resembling a mermaid-bird hybrid. The creature has a bird-like face with a beak, long flowing wavy reddish-purple hair, a female torso, and a scaled lower body with webbed feet. It floats above a churning blue sea filled with swimming fish, surrounded by small white stars and a single yellow flower. A long, patterned serpent winds through the composition, encircling the creature's arm. In the upper sky, several stylized, human-faced celestial or marine beings and abstract purple shapes float amidst the gold background.

Yokai : Amabie | Elemento : Oro

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María Josefina Melero | Yokai: Amabie | Elemento: Plata | Mixed Media on Wood | 6 x 6"

Yokai : Amabie | Elemento : Plata

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painting on a shimmering metallic bronze background features a whimsical assortment of fantastical sea creatures, human-faced figures, and vibrant flowers. Near the center stands the recurring purple creature with a bird-like face, long flowing pink hair, and four legs, holding a small silver flower stem. Surrounding it are several uniquely patterned fish, including a large multicolored spotted fish with a striped black-and-white fish inside it, a light blue-and-white striped fish with colorful dots, an elongated blue-green fish, and two round red fish labeled with the numbers "2" and "3". The bottom of the canvas is lined with stylized red clovers, tiny multicolored blossoms, two pink flower stalks featuring realistic human faces, and a pair of round, expressive human-faced beings huddled together in the bottom right corner.

Yokai : Amabie | Elemento : Plata

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An oval-shaped painting on a white background depicts a whimsical maritime scene enclosed within its borders. A large, stylized purple eel-like creature with pink and blue spots is coiled vertically in the center, appearing to spout curly wind or steam from its mouth. It is flanked by two smaller, S-shaped purple sea serpents rising symmetrically from the water, each topped with a small orange element resembling a flame or hat. Below them, a densely packed sea of patterned green and yellow fish fills the lower half of the composition. Floating on the surface are three small sailboats with miniature figures aboard, while the light blue sky above is decorated with floating flowers, butterflies, and abstract cloud formations.

Cazadores de Monstruos Marinos de la Antigüedad

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An oval-shaped painting on a white background features a whimsical, pastel-toned scene centered around four figures in clown attire playing hopscotch. The clowns—dressed in light blue, peach, bright yellow, and striped outfits—leap dynamically across a numbered grid that includes visible digits like 2, 4, 5, 8, and 10. Floating above them is a curved arc of ten pale, teardrop-shaped balloons, while the ground below is covered with tiny, colorful animals, including cats, dogs, birds, and a snail. Simple floral doodles, butterflies, and small abstract plants decorate the pinkish-purple sky and edges of the composition.

Cuatro Payasos en la Peregrina

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Works on Paper

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María Josefina Melero | Mariposas | Mixed Media on Paper | 6 x 9” The horizontal, multi-colored composition is set against a textured, tan background divided by thin, vertical white lines into several wide panels. It features a dense and rhythmic arrangement of stylized butterflies in various sizes and vibrant colors—including pink, teal, blue, and grey—each detailed with intricate, hand-drawn patterns. Interspersed among the butterflies are a variety of geometric and organic forms, such as striped half-circles, checkered circles, and colorful rectangular blocks in shades of red, purple, and yellow. A prominent, fan-shaped form in the lower-left is composed of dark, fine-lined cross-hatching, with thin, wire-like stems extending outward and ending in small, colorful seed-pod or leaf shapes.

Mariposas

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This whimsical, mixed-media illustration depicts a colorful, squid-like creature swimming above a vibrant seabed, all set within a rectangular frame with wavy, scalloped edges. The central creature features a segmented, pod-like body with shades of orange, pink, and purple, and long, tapering tentacles in a gradient of yellow, green, and violet. A single, stylized eye gazes forward. The seafloor below is composed of overlapping, hilly mounds, each filled with distinct, intricate patterns—including polka dots, floral motifs, and geometric shapes in a diverse palette of greens, blues, pinks, and yellows. The background is a soft, muted greyish-green, suggesting a calm underwater environment, while the entire composition has a hand-drawn, textured quality with fine linework.

Sepia 

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María Josefina Melero | The Blue Ring | Mixed Media on Paper | 8 ½ x 10 ½" The horizontal composition features a stylized, pale purple blue-ringed octopus with prominent teal and dark blue circular patterns floating against a pale mint-green background. A long, undulating paper-like banner arches over the creature with the handwritten text: "...The blue ring, a very dangerous and poisonous kind of octopus..." The bottom and left edges of the artwork consist of a series of layered, overlapping hilly or wave-like forms, each filled with dense, vibrant patterns including purple floral motifs, golden paisley, and multi-colored stippling in shades of orange, teal, and blue. The entire piece is set within a light blue, scalloped-edge border with a dark, thin outline

The Blue Ring 

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María Josefina Melero | El Desarrollo de las Frutas | Mixed Media on Paper | 9 x 12” A horizontal, surrealist mixed-media work on a pale cream background featuring two large, pale hands emerging from textured, multi-colored mounds of paper pulp and confetti-like dots. At the center, a vertical totem of stacked, stylized heads—including a blue cat-like face at the base and human faces above—is crowned by a golden, pear-shaped form surrounded by a dense halo of stippling and small colorful mice. The lower half of the composition is densely populated with scattered numbers, small pink apples, and schools of tiny, multi-colored fish, while the upper section features several large, floating seed-pod or leaf shapes in shades of yellow and pink.

El Desarrollo de las Frutas 

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María Josefina Melero | Botines Antiguos | Mixed Media on Paper | 8 ½ x 11 ½" The horizontal composition features two large, stylized lavender-grey high-heeled ankle boots floating against a pale mint-green background with wavy, deckled edges. A detailed, monochromatic human face emerges from the opening of the larger boot on the right, growing like a flower on a thin, leafy stem. The scene is populated with whimsical, hand-drawn elements, including a small winged creature with a human face, several patterned circular "moons" or orbs, and a cluster of simplified, multi-colored flowers along the bottom edge. The artwork combines fine-lined drafting with soft, atmospheric shading, creating a surreal and dreamlike narrative.

Botines Antiguos 

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