Aurelio Akbal whose real name is Carlos Beltran was born in Cuscatlán, surrounded and enamored by the natural beauty and traditions of his city and country.

Nonetheless he was still submerged in a society corrupted by different phenomena.

Since a young age he showed extreme interest in drawing and art.

Encouraged by his parents he participated in various talent and art shows that were highly featured in the cultural center in his native town in El Salvador.

He was a selected by a national newspaper to participate in a drawing contest and was awarded a honorary diploma and sought after on a regular basis for future features.

He completed his studies in the Walter Thilo Deininger National Institute in the specialty of architecture and continued his studies in fine arts in the University of El Salvador. He also participated in group painting exposures, drawing events, pottery and sculpture art shows.

The obstacles he faced in life are a huge influence in his art form. His art is his statement of disapproval against the several social, cultural, religious, sexual stereotypes he is painfully aware exist.

Aurelio Akbal

Artist Statement

With my work I seek to stimulate my viewers to question their thoughts, perception, and the ideals they adopted or were forced upon them.

I want to challenge them to dismiss the safe, predictable and comfortable interpretation that is familiar and instead evolve into a new one that will feel uncomfortable and even destroy what was once thought to be the truth.

We are inclined to easily adopt an image and thought that is convenient and comfortable, and we use it as a protective barrier to fit in the world and isolate others from him. We have been taught is right and we often do not question it in order to create the false feeling of safety and acceptance.

I challenge you to be brave enough to let your experiences and your journey change all that, change you. If we allow it, our life experiences, the people we come in contact with, will begin to transform our preconceptions, if we embrace the pain and the joy that comes with being fully aware of the life we live and the people that surround us then our soul begins to evolve. And then maybe we can begin to view humanity with fairer judgments, not contaminated by egocentrism.

Building it, Destroying it, Rebuilding it / Build yourself, destroy yourself, rebuild yourself.