Meet Maurilio Tapia | Artist & Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maurilio Tapia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maurilio, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
It’s hard to say. Part of me wants to fulfill my life fully as an artist, having my art sustain my goals, family and lifestyle. I would love to be able to own an art studio and to be consistently pushing art for many galleries, museums, commissions and more! I want to leave this life with a gift of inspiration and aesthetic through my art. The other part of me also wishes to retire as a professor. I would love to be able to work with students, especially first-generation students through their young careers. I find this age to be fascinating and vital towards their own growth as a human being, thus being able to speak from my experiences and teach the tricks and lessons that I have learned throughout my life would also be fulfilling. Or, I could do both! My life can go in many different directions and I am excited to see where the future lies.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Ultimately, I want my art to be reflective of my culture and the influences that surround my life. My style is dynamic, colorful, fluid and textured. I always find myself thinking of the many ways in which I could represent the Mexican and Mexican-American cultures without being niche or relying on the typical iconographies that surround this art. Often times, I know that this type of art work is labeled as either “folk-art” or “Chicano-art”, always carrying the weight of the hyphen before the art. I want my art to be art created by a Mexican artist. My goal is to create a new style and representation of my culture that will allow my culture to progress in the way we express ourselves within this contemporary lifestyle. However, doing so is not easy. Like the artists before me, there are many traditionalists that push away new representations and interpretations of art and often times I find myself discouraged. But whenever I feel this way, something in the universe sends me an opportunity to either share my story or create something new for someone who shares my vision. I want to leave this world knowing that I dedicated my life in representing the culture which I love dearly.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a particularly funny question to me because this happened to me literally last week! To start off, Denver would absolutely need to be the central hub for everything. First things first, brunch is a necessity. In this case, The Lobby is an excellent starting place to go as they have great food and even better endless mimosas and bloody marias. Depending on the time of year, Rockies Opening Day is a Colorado holiday that every outsider needs to experience at least once in their lives. The day and night would be full of tequila and great company. Ending this night, I would have to stop by Ian’s Pizza and pick up a few slices. Denver is full of amazing restaurants, awesome museums like the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, fantastic art galleries along the Santa Fe Art District, we can even check out a playoff game with the Denver Nuggets!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I always like to credit my journey as a creative and as an artist to my 12th grade AP Art History teacher, Coach Rohnke. Interestingly enough, Coach Rohnke was a PE coach and the school basketball that happened to have an extreme passion for the art and art history. I never anticipated becoming an artist, having hopes in working my way into the medical field. However, Nate, a good friend of mine, miraculously convinced me to take this AP Art History class. This was the single most important class that I have taken in my life. Through the year, Coach Rohnke taught us the history of the world, starting from Paleolithic Art all the way through the contemporary age. His passion towards progression, different eras, aesthetics and the teaching of art not only inspired me to pursue a career in art, but also changed my life and my perception of the surrounding world. I credit this class and Coach Rohnke for forever changing my trajectory in life.

Website: https://www.starstormtito.com

Instagram: @starstormtito

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maurilio-tapia/

Other: TikTok: @StarStormTito