Zaplaflora

Bio

My name is Jesús Torres Alfonso. My artistic name is Zaplaflora. I was born in Cuba in 1960. Since I was a child, I developed my vocation to create art, inspired by the beauty of Caribbean nature. Nature is still my main source of inspiration today, establishing a spiritual and surreal connection with it when I create art. In 1984, I graduated as an engineer in Cuba, and since then, I pride myself of using my professional knowledge of engineering in my fascinating world of artistic creation. In 1997, I emigrated to the United States, and since then I have lived and worked as an artist in Miami. In my works, you can feel the legacy of Pablo Picasso, René Magritte, and Manuel Mendive, among other greats of international painting, but I am proud to have reached a stage in my artistic career where my most unique and personalized style prevails, where I give free rein to spontaneity, freshness in designs and shapes, very attractive color contrasts, the thoughtful use of light and shadow spots, and the creation of images from different perspectives that appear to be in motion. My art has captured the interest of the press in Miami, the most important being two extensive reports by El Nuevo Herald in 1998 and 2022. Verónica Egui Brito, journalist of El Nuevo Herald, wrote in November 2022: “Since arriving in Miami more than 25 years ago, Zaplaflora has evolved as an artist, with surrealist paintings of nature that are thought-provoking, spiritually…His works, mainly focused on painting with acrylic and metallic acrylic, are thought-provoking, and are both, expressive and sensual. Its bright colors and ornate patterns evoke emotions, while viewers are encouraged to decipher symbols and shapes”. I have participated in countless international art exhibitions, both physical and virtual, including those sponsored by People and Paintings Gallery in New York; MundoArti in Spain; Aries, Galería de Arte in Venezuela; Art Ikonte in Mexico; and Ecira International Platform in Argentina. Among the physical ones, my participation in exhibitions sponsored by the Hialeah City Council is particularly noteworthy. Special mention deserves my participation from October. 15th 2022 to February 5th 2023 in the 2022 Florida Biennial sponsored by “Art and Culture Center” in Hollywood. My original painting “Pollination in the Garden of Love” (2022) was exposed, after a curated selection process, among more than 1000 submitted paintings by more than 300 artists from all the state of Florida. Ylva Rouse, curator of Contemporary Art Museum (MOCA) in Jacksonville, Florida, and member of the Jury in the 2022 Florida Biennial, asked about Zaplaflora´s Art by the journal “El Nuevo Herald” in November 2022, explained: “I had the pleasure of selecting Zaplaflora's work for its colorful and enigmatic canvases, which are framed in Magical Realism, as a way to bring us closer to understanding our connection to nature and its inherent mysterious and ultimately existential quality…Zaplaflora's work is one of the ways in which today's artists attempt to express the need to redefine our relationship with nature, drawing a parallel with the internal components of life”. I have had two virtual solo exhibitions: the most recent, "Zaplaflora´s Art: Reflections of an Artist", at People and Paintings Gallery in July 2024, where I exposed 20 paintings spanning a large part of my artistic career to the present day; the first, in 3D format, "Zaplaflora: With Ecological Flavor", with the Spanish gallery MundoArti from March to July 2022, where I presented a sample of 24 paintings. I have received important international art awards. Mentioning them all would make this brief biography too long. However, I would like to specifically mention, among the most recent ones, the Best Artist Award 2025 in March 2025 from the Indonesian Colors Shade Art International Community; Honor Mention in the international exhibition "Art Heroes" by Art Ikonte in Mexico in February 2025; the Popular Vote Awards at the People and Paintings Gallery Juried Exhibitions in September and October 2024; and the Curator´s Award at the People and Paintings Gallery Juried Exhibition “Dream and Reality” in March 2024. It is worth highlighting my work as Curator for the 34th New York People and Paintings Gallery Virtual International Juried Exhibition in March 2025. The Gallery wrote the following review about my curatorial work: "It was a great pleasure working with you. We are delighted to learn that you are not only a talented artist but also a skilled curator." My works are currently on display in several physical art galleries in Miami and several other international virtual ones. Many of my paintings are also now part of private collections in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. A French Art collector, who purchased two of my paintings in 2022, sent me a letter: “Jesús, I have just received these two magnificent paintings that you have lovingly dedicated to our precious nature. It´s with emotions and heart filled with joy that I can contemplate these masterpieces that are of breathtaking beauty. You have imbued yourself with such details, beautiful reliefs, colors and symbols; these paintings are full of magic and love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for these sumptuous gifts”. Self-Employed Artist Artist, 1997 – to present Education: Mechanical Engineer. Havana City University. July 1984

Statement

"Being able to feel what is invisible, and being able to create it, that´s Art"; that is the way the German painter Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) defined Art. And I pride myself on perceiving what is invisible to others, and on "creating" it in my pictorial works. My paintings are the artistic expression of my purest creation and imagination. I don't reproduce images from books, magazines or catalogues. My designs and pictorial compositions are the most authentic and free expression of my feelings, emotions and instincts. Painting ignites my emotions, triggers my instincts and gives free rein to my imagination, to create an exclusive Art, with a very personal and easily identifying style. I don't follow rules or specific painting schools. You might assume that I “break” the rules all the time. My work is the result of praxis, of permanent innovation and of my most empirical experience. I am encouraged by one of the best-known quotes from one of the greatest artists of all time, Pablo Picasso: "Learn the rules like a professional, so you can break them like an artist." I am not saying that I am a professional at all…I am just someone who loves to create Art, that studies a lot by his own, and that tries to improve himself everyday as an artist. Every single day I wake up with a creative project in mind, and with a strong willingness to transform it into Art. Common traits of my works are spontaneity, freshness, spirituality, mysticism and magic. However, you could find in my paintings the influence of Salvador Dalí for instance, René Magritte and Pablo Picasso, as well as of the Cuban artists Manuel Mendive, Wifredo Lam, René Portocarrero and Amelia Peláez. You might “feel” their legacy in my artworks, but I have definitely achieved a persolalized style in my artistic career of more than 50 years. My sources of inspiration? Common threads that keep my works interconnected? Nature is the greatest artist in my paintings. Natural beauties, Nature´s fertile abundance and generosity, that interactive relationship between Men and Nature, its flora and fauna…Man's permanent search for a psychological and emotional balance in Life, and the indispensable ecological balance in the Earth. When painting, I establish a spiritual connection with Nature, my main source of inspiration. My artistic name, Zaplaflora, tells you about the essential role Nature and its flora play in my Art. You will find in my Artworks a rainfall of Nature colors and shapes in “perfect” harmony, but contrasting one with each other at the same time, together with the use of classic symbols. With your eyes on them, you will have the impression that those static images transmute into vibrant displays of perpetual motion; as if they, surprisingly, will come out from the canvas to stay by your side, with the magic power of inspiring, thought-provoking, healing wounded souls, and making you forget the grays of urban cities. Painting gives me many reasons to feel myself fully and spiritually rewarded in life. What am I looking for with my paintings? What do I propose and what are my final motivations? My paintings are my key means of communication with the world. Above all, I want the public to enjoy the freedom of colors and shapes; the fresh use of classic symbols and other more innovative ones. And I want to communicate with that audience, to inspire them feelings, emotions; to unlock their instincts; to have an impact on their senses and on their consciousness; to convey concepts and life perceptions. In short, I want the viewers to feel the intensity of life while enjoying my Art.

2026

• The Poetics of the Unperfect

  People & Paintings Gallery

  There is a kind of beauty that escapes all canons — a beauty that lives in the trembling line, in the hesitant gesture, in the visible traces of searching. In art, imperfection is not a flaw but a signature — a testimony of human presence, of the subjective gaze that reshapes the world through its own sensibility. Every artist carries within a constellation of signs, rhythms, tensions, and silences. From the meeting of these inner worlds emerge singular forms — expressions of how each of us understands and reinterprets reality. Artistic practice thus becomes a space of freedom, where theory dissolves into gesture, and concept merges with emotion. Beauty, then, is no longer an external ideal but an inner experience — the result of an intimate relation between the artwork and the one who beholds it, between intention and perception. Each piece speaks not only of the one who created it, but also of the one who contemplates it. In this silent exchange, imperfection becomes a bridge: an opening toward authenticity, a proof that art is alive — unfinished, ever-evolving, and profoundly human.

• Caring for Nature is Caring for Ourselves

  People & Paintings Gallery

  In the current context of environmental crisis, global conflicts, and the effects of climate change, we need a new way of relating to nature, to the planet we inhabit, and to each other as humanity. Nature and its resources are not infinite, yet our global economy acts as if they were. The crises we face stem from the way we relate to nature, as we fail to understand that its ecosystems cannot be overexploited due to their roles in climate regulation and the self-regulation of various processes. Ecosystems are interconnected and enable the stabilization of the climate, biogeochemical cycles, and biodiversity. From clouds to algae, every element plays a part in these processes. There are planetary boundaries we must respect to ensure our survival. Therefore, it is essential to care for nature, respect it, and understand that we are part of it. Recognizing and honoring its vast biodiversity is also the first step toward a more harmonious humanity. Money is worthless if we do not have a planet in good condition to enjoy and if we fail to foster good relations among our peoples. “Nature does not belong to us; we belong to it.”

• Landscape Through My Eyes

  People & Paintings Gallery

  There is a kind of beauty that escapes all canons — a beauty that lives in the trembling line, in the hesitant gesture, in the visible traces of searching. In art, imperfection is not a flaw but a signature — a testimony of human presence, of the subjective gaze that reshapes the world through its own sensibility. Every artist carries within a constellation of signs, rhythms, tensions, and silences. From the meeting of these inner worlds emerge singular forms — expressions of how each of us understands and reinterprets reality. Artistic practice thus becomes a space of freedom, where theory dissolves into gesture, and concept merges with emotion. Beauty, then, is no longer an external ideal but an inner experience — the result of an intimate relation between the artwork and the one who beholds it, between intention and perception. Each piece speaks not only of the one who created it, but also of the one who contemplates it. In this silent exchange, imperfection becomes a bridge: an opening toward authenticity, a proof that art is alive — unfinished, ever-evolving, and profoundly human.

2025

• Homenaje a la Mujer

  Miami

  The City of Hialeah Council in Miami, Florida, USA, hosted this collective exhibition in March 2025, as a tribute to women. I exposed my original painting "The Garden of Eden" (2024).

• José Martí

  Miami

  The City of Hialeah Council, Miami, Florida, USA, hosted this exhibition from January 24 to February 21, 2025, as a tribute to Cuban patriot José Martí. I exposed my original painting "Suns and Flowers of My Sunrise" (2024).

• Poems and Song Lyrics: Inspiration to Visual Artists

  Online

  At New York People and Paintings Gallery request, I acted as curator of this 34th Juried International Exhibition.

• Project Art Zero

  Online

  Mexican Art Gallery Art Ikonte hosted this collective international exhibition in March 2025. I exposed my original painting "Amazon Origin".

• International Virtual Art Exhibition

  Online

  I won the Excellence in Art Award from the Indian Association of World Artists in February 2025, by founder Annie Dutta.

• Regenerescence De la Lumiere Group Virtual Art Exhibition

  Online

  I exposed my original acrylic painting "Coffee Rain" (2024) in Regenerescence De la Lumiere Group Virtual Art Exhibition hosted by Mexican Art Ikonte from March 26 to 31, 2025.

• Semi-Annual Art Show "Midsummer Vibes"

  People & Paintings Gallery

  Experience the vibrant pulse of summer at the People & Paintings Gallery with our semi-annual House Artists exhibition, “Midsummer Vibes”, opening July 7. This celebratory showcase features fresh works by our talented group of gallery House artists, designed to capture the warmth, energy, and creativity that define midsummer. Expect an eclectic blend of media—from bold abstracts and impressionist-inspired landscapes to intimate figurative pieces—each echoing personal interpretations of light, color, and seasonal joy. Curated to evoke the carefree spirit of high summer, the exhibition presents immersive compositions that balance emotional depth with visual flair. Visitors will encounter works full of luminous hues, dynamic brushstrokes, and textural richness—inviting contemplation and delight. Whether through vibrant scenes that evoke sunshine-drenched afternoons or subtle explorations of mood and atmosphere, “Midsummer Vibes” offers a compelling journey through the creative expressions of our House Artists collective. Join us to celebrate midsummer’s glow, engage with new artistic voices, and discover inspired works perfect for refreshing your summer ambience. All exhibited pieces are available for sale online or in-gallery throughout the show. We look forward to welcoming you to an exhibition that’s as lively, diverse, and radiant as the season itself.

• Eyes: a passage to the inner world

  People & Paintings Gallery

  Some people say that human eyes are an open door to the soul or “the windows to the soul”. Well, eyes are a beautiful “instrument“ which defines the human face, with a specific shape, not very simple, but not very complicated to draw, if the artist understand the geometrical shapes and the anatomy. Eyes are maybe the most important feature of any portrait, in pictures, paintings, drawings, art in general and of course in a face to face connection. All the light provided by the world is captured by eyes and everything around us is somehow rendered by them in colors and information sent to the brain. In Bible says “your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.” Our world is governed by light and darkness and “eyes“ with “ears“ are the “instruments“ that helps us to see and hear, but in the way we choose; the light within will reflect through eyes the soul of a person, because every detail that was captured by them will build in time what we are, let’s call it our personality, our image, our authenticity. Eyes can reveal the light and clarity, to madness and tragedy. This art exhibition is open to everyone and every art technique from drawing, painting to photography and more personal innovative medium. The central focus must be on eye shape, the look, the emotional touch, represented in a portrait or a composition. Every idea is welcome from a realistic approach to an abstract concept. We can communicate with our body language, but eyes are always the wow element that can describe the most powerful emotion. Good luck to everyone! I can’t wait to see your artworks! Curator Geanina M Zaharia

• People United for Peace

  People & Paintings Gallery

  We live in a world in which communication, people's trust in other people, is being lost, or is increasingly diminishing, this causes distance between people, there is also a lack of tolerance for what is different from us. Therefore, I consider that art is the way to bring us closer, to identify with each other, to try to find common ground and the way to respect each other and create a world of peace and unity between peoples. For this reason, Débora Lewinson, founder of Lewinson Art, calls on artists from around the world to interpret the theme People United for Peace. These works must express harmony, respect, unity.

• From the Gallery's Storeroom 2025

  People & Paintings Gallery

  Many great works are being submitted to our Juried Exhibitions. According to the rules, our curators select only 20 works for each exhibition. The exhibition curation is a separate art. Each individual work must be a part of the "big picture". Unfortunately, many amazing works "fall through the crack". As we remember from Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in". Some of these works are so great that we still want to show them to our fans. We decided that at the end of this year we will organize a special exhibition "From the Gallery's Storeroom" where we will exhibit some of the works applied, but not selected for any other exhibitions during this year.

2024

• Solo Exhibition Zaplaflora Art

  Online

  Mexican Art Ikonte Virtual Gallery hosted my solo exhibition "Zaplaflora Art" in November 2024, where I exposed a sample of 20 of my original paintings.

• Solo Exhibition Zaplaflora: Reflections of the Artist

  Online

  New York People and Paintings Gallery hosted in March 2024 my solo exhibition "Zaplaflora: Reflections of the Artist", where I exposed a sample of 20 of my original paintings. It was a kind of retrospective exhibition, where I featured paintings from 1999 to 2024.

• Interioridades

  Miami

  The USA Art Gallery "Punto de Encuentro" hosted this exhibition from November 14 to December 12, 2024. I exposed my original painting "Give Me Hope, Give Me Love, Let Me Live/My Blooming Ocean" (2024).

• La Mano Hispana

  Miami

  The City of Hialeah, Miami, Florida, USA, hosted this exhibition in October 2024, as a tribute to the Hispanic heritage and legacy. I exposed my original painting "Four/My Flowery Planet".

• 32 Juried International Exhibition "Sunrises and Sunsets"

  Online

  I won the Popular Vote Award with my original painting "Suns and Flowers of My Sunrise" (2024) in the 32 Juried International Exhibition "Sunrises and Sunsets" hosted by New York People and Paintings Gallery in October 2024.

• 31 Juried International Exhibition "Art of Faces: Portraits"

  Online

  I won the Popular Vote Award in the 31 Juried International Exhibition "Art of Faces: Portraits" with my original painting "Two of the Many Faces of Love", hosted by New York People and Paintings Gallery in September 2024.

• 30 Juried International Exhibition "Branches and Roots"

  Online

  I won the Popular Vote Award in the 30 Juried International Exhibition "Branches and Roots", with my original painting "Mystical Identity" (2024), hosted by New York People and Paintings Gallery in May 2024.

• International Virtual Exhibition "Vibrant Fragments"

  Online

  I won the Outstanding Artwork Award in the International Virtual Exhibition "Vibrant Fragments", with my original painting "Now and Then" (2024), hosted by Venezuela Aries, Art Gallery in May 2024.

• 29 Juried International Exhibition "Breaking the Rules"

  Online

  I won the Popular Vote Award in the 29 Juried International Exhibition "Breaking the Rules", with my original painting "Octopuse´s Garden" (2024), hosted by New York People and Paintings Gallery in April 2024.

• 28 Juried International Exhibition "Dream and Reality"

  Online

  I won the Curator´s Award in the 28 Juried International Exhibition "Dream and Reality", with my original painting "Now and Then" (2024), hosted by New York People and Paintings Gallery in March 2024.

• XXI International Virtual Museum

  Online

  I exposed my original painting "Forest Life" in the XXI International Virtual Museum hosted by the Spanish International Art Gallery "MundoArti".

• Café con Arte

  Miami

  I exposed my original painting "Coffee Rain" (2024) in the Physical International Art Exhibition "Café con Arte" hosted by Miami Futurama Art Gallery.

• Fall International Virtual Group Exhibition by British Royal Blue Gallery

  Online

  I exposed my original painting "Give Me Hope, Give me Love, Let Me Live" (2024) in the Fall International Virtual Group Exhibition hosted by British Royal Blue Gallery from October 1 to 29, 2024.

• Cherry Blossom

  Online

  I won the Golden Award in the Cherry Blossom International Group Exhibition hosted by Indonesian Green Emerald International Art Group by Admin Icha Rahman in March 2024.

2023

• Connecting Borders with Art Masters

  Online

  I won the First Place Popular Vote Award in the International Art Exhibition "Connecting Borders with Art Masters", with my original painting "Thickness of Charm", hosted by Brazilian Liesel Cerna Studio International Art Group.

• A World of Creativity and Artistic Diversity

  Online

  I won the First Place Award in the International Exhibition "A World of Creativity and Artistic Diversity" hosted by Brazilian Liesel Cerna Studio International Art Group.

• XVII International Art Exhibition "Spring Season 2023"

  Online

  I exposed my original painting "Dazzling Glowing Spring" (2023) in the XVII International Art Exhibition "Spring Season 2023" hosted by the Spanish International Art Group "MundoArti".

2022

• 2022 Florida Biennial by Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, Florida, USA

  Miami

  Art and Culture Center, in Hollywood, Florida, USA, hosted this 2022 Florida Biennial. My original painting "Pollination in the Garden of Love" (2022) was selected to be exposed after a curatorial process where more than 1000 artworks were submitted. Ylva Rouse, curator of Contemporary Art Museum (MOCA) in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, and member of the Jury in the 2022 Florida Biennial, asked about Zaplaflora´s Art by the journal “El Nuevo Herald” in November 2022, explained: “I had the pleasure of selecting Zaplaflora's work for its colorful and enigmatic canvases, which are framed in Magical Realism, as a way to bring us closer to understanding our connection to nature and its inherent mysterious and ultimately existential quality…Zaplaflora's work is one of the ways in which today's artists attempt to express the need to redefine our relationship with nature, drawing a parallel with the internal components of life”.

• ArtCertificate4

  Online

  I won the Coup De Coeur Award in all categories in the International Art Exhibition "ArtCertificate4" with my original paintings "Love in the Jungle" and "Talking with the Seed", hosted by the Spanish Art Group "ArtCertificate".

• 20 Juried International Exhibition "A Spring Tradition"

  Online

  I won the Popular Vote Award in the 20 Juried International Exhibition "A Spring Tradition", with my original painting "Conceiving Spring" (2022), hosted by New York People and Paintings Gallery in March 2022.

• XII International Exhibition Spring 2022

  Online

  XII International Exhibition "Spring 2022" hosted by the Spanish International Gallery MundoArti. I exposed my painting "Four/My Flowery Planet" (2022).