Isabella Mellado: A Poetics of Identity and Contemporary Mysticism

Isabella Mellado (San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1996) is a painter and educator based in Chicago, widely recognized for her magical realist paintings that explore Latinidad, queer identity, the tarot, and esoteric spirituality. After studying at the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA '18) and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MFA '23), she has exhibited in leading art fairs and institutions across the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico, emerging as one of the most authentic voices of her generation.

Visual Poetics Between Symbol and Intimacy

Mellado’s work is rooted in a visual language that blends religious iconography, folk storytelling, and esoteric symbolism. Her 2024 series Te diré quién eres, exhibited at Povos Gallery (Chicago), is a clear example of how she reinterprets traditional imagery through a contemporary lens. Through paintings and photographs functioning as visual talismans, Mellado explores identity from a Latinx and queer perspective, reimagining iconic figures such as saints, gargoyles, and mythological creatures, and connecting them with themes of faith, guilt, and self-affirmation.

In works like Four of Swords (St. Sebastian), the body is portrayed as a site of spiritual resistance, an emotional atmosphere that invites viewers to recognize themselves in the vulnerable, the mystical, and the introspective. Her art encourages an intimate gaze, fostering a silent dialogue between artwork and observer.

Tarot Imagery and Collective Memory

During the 2025 edition of Material Art Fair (Mexico City), Mellado presented one of her most ambitious works to date: Baile para el Señor de los Muertos. This large-scale triptych, accompanied by an extended performance, used tarot as its starting point—transcending the spiritual realm to become a symbolic and narrative device. Major Arcana cards like The Wheel of Fortune and Eight of Swords were not only spiritual signs but vehicles for intense emotion, transformation, and uncertainty.

The tarot becomes a visual strategy through which Mellado explores diaspora, identity reconstruction, and collective memory. She uses the esoteric imaginary as a narrative framework that bridges the autobiographical with the historical. Her images reveal a universe saturated with symbols where the personal and collective are deeply interwoven.

Trajectory and Training as a Core Practice

Since her 2023 exhibition Desde el Charco (Lisbon and Miami), Mellado has highlighted her identity as an artist of the Puerto Rican diaspora. This stance is reflected not only in her subject matter but also in how she articulates nostalgia, belonging, and the search for new cultural references. Her work has been shown in institutions and galleries such as the Bronx Museum, Kavi Gupta Gallery (Chicago), and Walter Otero Contemporary Art (San Juan), reinforcing her international presence.

Alongside her artistic career, Mellado maintains a strong commitment to education. She has been a fellow at the Teacher Institute of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and a teaching fellow at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned her MFA. Her role as an educator supports her vision of an artistic practice grounded in critical thinking, community engagement, and the nurturing of new creative voices.

Visual Rituals and Expanded Spirituality

A distinctive dimension of Mellado’s practice is her fascination with the esoteric and her ability to translate it into a unique visual language. Far from merely replicating religious codes, she creates visual spaces where tarot, astrology, and mythology serve as open-ended questions. Her work constructs a territory in which ritual becomes an aesthetic and emotional experience.

In projects like Realismo Mágico (San Juan, 2023), Mellado revisits colonial historical references to propose a contemporary and critical interpretation. The spirituality that arises in her work is flexible and compassionate, offering the viewer a symbolic space to inhabit their contradictions, beliefs, and desires.

Perspective and Future

At 27, Isabella Mellado is building a coherent and symbolically powerful body of work. Her visual exploration of identity, spirituality, and community — from oil paintings to performance-based installations — reflects a deep commitment to creating images that expand both intimate and collective memory.

Her continued presence in Chicago, alongside an active agenda between Latin America and the U.S., positions her as a key voice in the dialogue on contemporary art across transnational and dissident contexts.