Rafael Trelles
Rafael Trelles was born on April 27, 1957 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He began studying painting at the age of eleven, under the guidance of the Catalan painter, Julio Yort. In 1980, Trelles graduated from the University of Puerto Rico having obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, Magna Cum Laude. In 1983, he pursued graduate studies at the Universidad Autónoma de México (the National University of Mexico). At present, he resides and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Rafael Trelles by Rebecca Zilenziger ©
Individual Exhibitions
2021 Axis Mundi, painting exhibition, October Gallery, London.
2020 The Imagined Word, drawing exhibition. Point of Contact Gallery, Syracuse University, Nueva York.
La palabra imaginada, exhibición de dibujos. Museo de Las Américas, San Juan Puerto Rico.
2018 Santurce, un libro mural, Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art. Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2015 Flora, un encuentro con las acuarelas de Agustín Stahl. San Juan Bautista
Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2013 Samsa, digital photography; sala Aljibe, Carmen de la Victoria, Granada, España.
2012 Intersections, new paintings, Bayamón Museum of Art, Puerto Rico.
2011 Intersections, new paintings, Taller Puertorriqueño, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
USA
En concreto, gráfica urbana (In Concrete, Urban Graphics), presentation of portfolios and 6 documentaries. Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2009 Samsa, digital photography. Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art. Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2007 Figuraciones sobre plástico (Representations in Plastic), exhibition of drawings. Galería 356, San Juan Puerto Rico, (shared hall with María Antonia Ordoñez).
En concreto, gráfica urbana en Buenos Aires (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Buenos Aires), Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires Argentina. Resident Artist, urban interventions and exhibitions.
Performance Autorretrato según Paret, carta a un Presidente (Self-Portrait According to Paret, Letter to a President). Plaza de la Convalecencia, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
En concreto, gráfica urbana en Vieques (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Vieques), presentation of portfolio of digital graphics. Fuerte del Conde Mirasol, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
2006 En concreto, gráfica urbana en Vieques (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Vieques), presentation of portfolio of digital graphics. Raúl Juliá Theater, Puerto Rico Museum of Art, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
En concreto (gráfica urbana en Mayagüez) (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Mayagüez), Parque de los Próceres, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Urban interventions, showing of documentary, conference.
Performance En concreto (gráfica urbana en el Ponce Art Museum), (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in the Ponce Museum of Art), sidewalk, Ponce Museum of Art. Project Círculo del Arte, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
2005 Installation and Performance Natividad (Nativity), Galería Sin Título, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Performance En concreto (gráfica urbana en Vieques), (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Vieques), land formerly belonging to the Navy, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition En concreto (gráfica urbana), (In Concrete, Urban Graphics), Conde de Mirasol Museum, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition En Concreto (gráfica urbana), (In Concrete, Urban Graphics), Galería Botello, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
2004 Exhibition En Concreto (gráfica urbana) (In Concrete, Urban Graphics), Gallery of Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart University), Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2003 Exhibition of paintings, Poliedro (Polyhedron), Puerto Rico Museum of Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2001 Exhibition of paintings Crónicas del Asombro (Chronicles of Wonder), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000 Installation Visitas al Velorio, Museo de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999 Exhibition of painting, Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States
1997 Exhibition of paintings Paisaje Secreto (Secret Landscape), Ponce Museum of Art, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of paintings, Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States.
1996 Installation Visitas al Velorio, Ponce Museum of History, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
1993 Exhibition of paintings, El Jardín del Poeta (The Poet’s Garden), Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1992 Exhibition of drawings, Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, Edificio Centro Europa, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
1991 Installation Visitas al Velorio, Museum of History, Anthropology and Art, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
1990 Exhibition of paintings and drawings, Gallery Renaissance III, New Jersey, United States.
1989 Exhibition of drawings Casa Fleming, 15to. Festival del Café (15th Coffee Festival), Yauco, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of drawings, Library of the Colegio Universitario de Humacao, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
1988 Exhibition of African-American drawings, Centro Universitario, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of drawings, Librería Hermes, Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1987 Exhibition of drawings, Un camino hacia la magia (One Step Toward Magic), Art League, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1986 Exhibition of paintings, El tarot del universo (Universal Tarot), Café Teatro El Aquisitio, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain..
1985 Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Lithography, Edificio del Laboratorio de Pantomima, San Ángel, Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico City.
1983 Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Lithography, Galería Guatibirí, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
1982 Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Lithography, Galería Guatibirí, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
1979 Exhibition of drawings, Francisco Oller Gallery, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Group Exhibitions
2019 Esculturas Sonoras, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2019 Tribute to Lolita Lebrón, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2018 Puerto Rico: Defying Darkness, 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
2018 Portal, October Gallery, London, England.
2018 El Caribe en Puerto Rico, Caribbean University, Art Museum, Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
2018 Muestra Nacional de Arte (National Art Exhibit), Arsenal de la Marina (Old Navy Arsenal), Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Institute of Culture), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2017 Arte en concreto, lo concreto en el arte, Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
Catharsis, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Línea dura, Dr. Pío López Martínez Museum of Art, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico.
La réplica original, Galería del Complejo Cultural BUAP, Puebla, México.
99 +1, la centena, Sacred Heart University Art Gallery, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2016 The poem is the question, Escuté House, Carolina, Puerto Rico
El viaje de la impronta, Galería del Complejo Cultural BUAP, Puebla, México.
2015 Lorenzo Homar, tributo gráfico puertorriqueño, Sala de exposiciones José Antonio Torres Martinó Universidad de Puerto Rico, Galería Espacio Abierto, La Habana Cuba.
2015 Epocalípticos, Art Gallery, San Juan Art League, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2014 Lente y pincel, Artífice Art Gallery, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Trans/figura, Casa Cortés, San Juan , Puerto Rico.
Artefacto, Sacred Heart University Art Gallery, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2013 Paraíso y palabras: un diálogo entre el arte y la literatura en Puerto Rico, Ponce Art Museum, Ponce Puerto Rico.
Muestra Nacional de Arte (National Art Exhibit), Arsenal de la Marina (Old Navy Arsenal), Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Institute of Culture), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Art for Haiti, Art League, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
CCC: Caribes, Inaugural Exhibition Casa Cortés, San Juan , Puerto Rico.
2012 Sixth International Graphic Biennial of Douro, Alijó and Porto, Portugal
Art in Golf, FIST Art Foundation, Dorado Beach Resort Ritz Carlton. Dorado Puerto Rico
Caribbean Crossroads of the World, Queens Museum of Art, New York, USA.
Afrolatinos ( Afro-Latin ) Caguas Art Museum, Caguas, Puerto Rico.
2011 Grafías puertorriqueñas, Group exhibition; Corrala de Santiago Gallery, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Belgrade Encounters (Serbia) Group exhibition and residency, Akademija, Centar
za grafiku, Center for Graphics Art and Visual Researches, Belgrade, Serbia.
Campeche vivo, 200 años después. Puerto Rico Museum of Art, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
Entre líneas, Frade y el dibujo contemporáneo, Dr. Pío López Martínez Art Museum, University of Puerto Rico in Cayey.
2010 5th International Printmaking Biennieal of Douro , Alijó, Porto, Portugal.
Relevos y Careos. Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art. Santurce, Puerto Rico
Paradise Lost, The Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts),
Frederiksted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
Encounters: Space, Time and Life. Permanent collection exhibition,
reopening Ponce Art Museum, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
2009 Muestra Nacional de Arte (National Art Exhibit), Arsenal de la Marina (Navy Arsenal), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Bocetos encontrados. Exibición en homenaje a Augusto Marín (Conflicting
Sketches. An Exhibition in Homage to Augusto Marín). Sala Lexus, Ave. Kennedy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition “Meet Your Printmaker,” Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington D.C. United States.
Los Renegados (The Renegades), Museum of the Americas, Ballajá, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Dorado Art Week, Fist Art Foundation. Dorado Beach East, Dorado, Puerto Rico.
Décima Bienal de La Habana (Tenth Biennial of Havana), Havana, Cuba
2008 La Huella del Grabado II, [Episodios &Itinerarios II] (Influence of the Engraving II, [Episodes & ItinerariesII]) Galería del Centro Cultural, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador), Estampería Quiteña, Quito, Ecuador.
Seeing Peace, the Billboard Project. University of San Francisco, CA, in collaboration with the United Nations’ invitation to 10 artists from 10 countries around the world.
Objetivos Móviles (Mobile Objectives), Proyecto Ace Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2007 Afrocaribe, espiritualidad, arte y resistencia, (Afrocaribbean, Spirituality, Art, and Resistance) Casa Escuté, Carolina, Puerto Rico.
27th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, International Center for the Graphic Arts. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Colección de Arte Cortés (Cortés Art Collection), Caguas Art Museum. Caguas, Puerto Rico.
“America’s Paradise” and “Isla Del Encanto” (Enchanted Island), Contemporary Art from the American Caribbean. School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachussets, USA
PULPO, antología de 51 pintores y escritores por Papo Colo (PULPO, an anthology of 51 painters and writers by Papo Colo). National Gallery of the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture), San Juan Puerto Rico.
Installation in the collective and multimedia proposal, Cenizas quedan (Ashes Remain). Antonio Martorell’s burnt house, Cayey, Puerto Rico
Circa, Art Fair, Puerto Rico Convention Center. Galería 356.
Exhibition Óptika 07, Chardón Art Gallery, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus.
Restos, estudios arteológicos (Remains, Artology Studies). Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition and auction of paintings. Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico.
2006 Exhibition and auction of paintings, Puerto Rico Museum of Art, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
Autocontemplación (Contemplation of the Self), Exhibition of paintings. Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico.
Objetos de Gravamen y Causa: Interpretaciones Contemporáneas sobre el tema del consumo (Objects of Encumbrance and Cause: Contemporary Interpretations on Consumerism). Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
National Art Exhibit, Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of drawings, Emergencias, convergencias y divergencias (Emergences, Convergences, and Differences), Galería 356, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of drawings Seres (Beings), Galería 356, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Circa, Art Fair, Puerto Rico Convention Center. Galería 356.
Figuraciones (Imagination), Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2004 Primera Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan (First San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial), Exhibition Inscritos y Proscritos y Saqueos (Engravings, Exiles, and Plunder), Museum of the Americas and Casa del Libro, San Juan, PR.
Exhibition of paintings “Latin American Art Today” in Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, United States.
2003 Exhibition Installation Visitas al Velorio (an homage to Francisco Oller), acquired by the Puerto Rico Museum of Art as part of its permanent collection, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2002 Entre Amigos (Among Friends), Galería Tamara, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
XXXIV Festival Internacional de la pintura (International Festival of Painting), Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France.
2001 Tercera Bienal de arte contemporáneo de Florencia (Third Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence), Florence, Italy.
Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Conde de Mirasol Museum, Isabel Segunda, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Performance and civil disobedience, on lands belonging to the Navy in Vieques, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
2000 Puerto Rico en París, Salle des Pas Perdus, UNESCO Site, Paris, France.
1999 “Summer Group Show,” Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States.
“Latin American Spectrum,” Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States.
1998 “Summer Group Show,” Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States.
“Latin American Spectrum,” Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States.
100 años después... (One Hundred Years Later…), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Cien en la Sien (10 artistas) Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1997 “Latin Amercan Spectrum,” Elite Fine Arts Gallery, Florida, United States.
1996 Tercera Bienal de Pintura del Caribe y Centro América (Third Biennial of Caribbean and Central American Painting), Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Presencia Indígena en el Arte Puertorriqueño (Indiginous Presence in Puerto Rican Art), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1994 Primera muestra de arte 1994 (First Exhibit of Art 1994), Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, Chase Manhattan Bank, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
Muestra de arte puertorriqueño 1993 (Exhibit of Puerto Rican Art 1993), Quinto Centenario (Fifth Centennial), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1993 Preferencias de artistas (Artists’ Preferences), Chase Manhattan Bank, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
1992 Encuentro: Once Galerías (Encounters: Eleven Galleries), Banco de Desarrollo Económico de Puerto Rico (Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico), Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition Arte puertorriqueño de hoy (Contemporary Puerto Rican Art), Galería Arawak, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Exhibition La tercera raíz (The Third Root), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1991 Exhibition Naturaleza (Nature), Galería Normandy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1990 Exhibition Cinco en la Coabey (Five in Coabey), Galería Coabey, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1989 Exhibition Presencia Africana en el Arte del Caribe (The African Presence in Caribbean Art), Museo de Arte e Historia (Museum of Art and History), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition Una muestra de arte universal (An Exhibit of Universal Art), Casa del Libro, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1988 VI Bienal Iberoamericana de Arte Domecq (Domecq 6th Biennial of Art), Palacio de Bellas Artes, México DF. Mexico.
1987 First Prize in the Drawing Category, Certamen de la Revista Sin Nombre (Artists competition sponsored by Revista Sin Nombre), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of paintings Taller Delfín del Cielo, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1984 Exhibition of Lithography, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca, Mexico.
International Engraving Exhibition: Inter – Grafik, Berlin, East Germany.
1983 Exhibition El dibujo puertorriqueño contemporáneo (The Contemporary Puerto Rican Drawing), Galería Caimán, New York; Inti Gallery, Washington D.C., Altos de Chavón, Dominican Republic.
1981 First Prize in the Painting Category, Certamen de arte, Revista Sin Nombre (Artists competition sponsored by Revista Sin Nombre), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1980 Honorary Mention in the Painting Category, Certamen de Navidad del Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Christmas Exhibit at the Ateneo Puertorriqueño), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition El paisaje en la pintura puertorriqueña (The Landscape in Puerto Rican Painting), Ponce Museum of Art, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Exhibition of graphic art carried out in the Taller Panamericano del Grabado, Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1979 Honorary Mention in the Painting Category, Certamen de Artes Plásticas del Royal Bank of Canada (Fine arts competition sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada), San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Tercera muestra nacional de pintura y escultura (Third National Exhibit of Painting and Sculpture), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
First Prize in the Drawing Category, Certamen de Artes Plásticas, Oficina de Asuntos Culturales (Competition of Fine Arts sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs), University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
1978 Honorary Mention in the Drawing Category, Certamen de Artes Plásticas Universitario (University Competition of Fine Arts), University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
1977 Honorary Mention in the Drawing Category, Certamen de Artes Plásticas (Fine Arts Competition) sponsored by Tiendas Gem U.N.E.S.C.O., Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Performances and Installations
2018 Santurce, un libro mural, Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art. Santurce, Puerto Rico.
2012 Third Edition of the San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennale, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Educational Program.
2011 Campechada, Performance in collaboration with Petra Bravo dance company Incapié. Plaza de Armas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2010 Performance En Concreto (gráfica urbana) 5th International Printmaking
Biennieal of Douro , Alijó, Porto, Portugal.
2009 Décima Bienal de La Habana (Tenth Biennial of Havana), Havana, Cuba
2008 Performance, show of lights, Monumento al Fracaso (Monument to Failure), abandoned petrochemical plant, Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
2007 En concreto, gráfica urbana en Buenos Aires (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Buenos Aires), Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Urban interventions and exhibitions.
Installation in the Collective and Multimedia Proposal, Cenizas quedan (Ashes Remain). Antonio Martorell’s burnt house, Cayey, Puerto Rico
Performance Autorretrato según Paret, carta a un Presidente (Self-portrait According to Parés, Letter to a President). Plaza de la Convalecencia, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
2006 Performance En Concreto (gráfica urbana en Mayagüez) (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Mayagüez), Parque de los próceres, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Performance En Concreto (gráfica urbana en el Museo de Arte de Ponce) (In Concrete, Urban Graphics at the Ponce Museum of Art), sidewalk, Ponce Museum of Art. Proyecto Círculo del Arte, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
2005 Installation and performance Natividad (Nativity), Galería Sin Título, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Performance En Concreto (gráfica urbana en Vieques) (In Concrete, Urban Graphics in Vieques) Land formerly belonging to the Navy, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
2003 Urban art and pasquinade "La guerra es un buen negocio"(War is Good Business) Colectivo el Alfil, San Juan, Río Piedras, Salinas, Bayamón, Humacao, Puerto Rico.
2001 Performance Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques), Federal Courtroom, Colectivo Artistas por la Paz (Artists for Peace Collective), Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
2000 Performance Creo en Vieques (I Believe in Vieques) on land restricted by the United States Navy in Vieques. Colectivo Artistas por la Paz (Artists for Peace Collective), Vieques, Puerto Rico
1998 Arte Urbano, “pasquinada” (Pasquinade), Colectivo El Alfil, San Juan, Río Piedras and Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
1995 Urban Art – Mural con poesía, Homenaje a la lluvia (Mural with Poetry, an Homage to Rain), Colectivo El Alfil, Poetry by Jan Martínez. Paseo de Diego, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
1994 Urban Art – Graffiti El ventrílocuo (Graffiti, the Ventriloquist), Colectivo El Alfil, Poetry by Jan Martínez.
1993 Installation Unión Permanente, Muestra de Arte Puertorriqueño (Permanent Union, an Exhibit of Puerto Rican Art), Quinto Centenario (Fifth Centennial), Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992 Urban Art – El mural del Callejón (Mural in the Alley), Colectivo El Alfil, Poetry by Jan Martínez, Callejón del Pilar, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Installation Dioses electrodomésticos (The Gods of Household Appliances), Espectáculo Rompeforma Teatro del Patio del Instituto de Cultura, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1991 Installation Visitas al velorio, (Homage to Francisco Oller), Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico.
“Ritual de arte” Solsticio (Art Ritual, Solstice), Parque Ceremonial Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
1988 Urban Art – Graffiti Lo que sobran son paredes (Too Many Walls), Taller Delfín del Cielo, Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1987 Installation and ritual, Un cambio hacia la magia (A Change to Magic) Art League of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1987 Installation En defensa del bosque tropical El Yunque (In Defense of the Tropical Rainforest El Yunque), Taller Delfín del Cielo, El Yunque, Luquillo, Puerto Rico.
1985 Urban Art – Mural El espejo de Dios (Mural: God’s Mirror), Taller Delfín del Cielo. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
1983 Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Lithography, Galería Guatibirí, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Urban Art – Mural El polvo de la memoria (Mural: Memory’s Dust), Painting by Rafael Trelles, Poetry by Obed Betancourt, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Installation El otro velorio (suicidio colectivo) (The Other Wake, Collective Suicide), Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, Puerto Rico.
1979 Exhibition of drawings, Galería Francisco Oller, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Scenery and Costume Design
2002 Execution of scenic paintings and art consultant for the documentary "Julia toda en mí" by Ivonne Belén.
1999 Scenery and costume design for the piece Son de Andanza. Compañía de Andanza. Center for Performing Arts Luis A. Ferré, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1998 Scenery design, Troya 98, Street theater. Producciones Taller Delfín del Cielo. Guánica, Puerto Rico.
1994 Scenery and costume design for the ballet Tres tiempos de fuego (Three Counts of Fire) by Gradissa Fernández. Tercer encuentro de coreógrafos (Third Presentation of Choreographers), Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Center for the Performing Arts Luis A. Ferré, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Costume design for the presentation of the modern dance Ritual de Unión de Danza Contacto (Union Ritual of Contact Dance). Venue Ballet de San Juan, Former Naval Base in Miramar, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1988 Scenery and costume design for theater-dance piece La gracia del tiempo (Time’s Grace), Taller Delfín del Cielo, Teatro del Patio, Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1985 Scenery and wardrobe design for the piece Nadando entre los arrecifes salados (Swimming Among the Salty Reefs) La Iguana Marina Company, Teatro Venustiano Carranzo, Mexico City, Mexico.
Distinctions
2011 Culture Medal, Alegría Foundation, Dr. Ricardo Alegría. San Juan Puerto Rico.
2009 Premio Innovación y Cambio en la Educación Superior, Curso Humanidades en Acción. Otorgado por el Centro para la Excelencia Académica (Innovation and Change in Higher Education Award, Humanities in Action. Awarded by the Center for Academic Excellence), University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.
2008 Prize for Best Exhibition of 2007, Asociación de Críticos de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Critics Association).
2005 Prize for Best Exhibition of 2004 in Contemporary Mediums, Asociación de Críticos de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Critics Association).
1998 Art Medal granted by the Asociación Puertorriqueña de Artistas Plásticos (Puerto Rican Artists Association), affiliated with UNESCO.
1996 "Premio al Mérito, por la excelencia en su trayectoria artístico-cultural." (Prize for Artistic Excellence), Fondo Nacional para el Financiamiento del Quehacer Cultural de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican National Fund for the Financing of Cultural Activities).
1992 Prize granted by the Puerto Rico Critics Association for the Best Installation of 1991.
1986 First prize in the drawing category in the competition sponsored by Revista Sin Nombre, Puerto Rico.
1981 First prize in the painting category in the competition sponsored by Revista Sin Nombre, Puerto Rico.
Associations
2019 Member of the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language.
1998 Founding member of the Puerto Rican Association of Artists, Chapter of the A.I.A.P.U.N.E.S.C.O.
1984 Founding member of El Alfil, fine arts literary group, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1986 Founding member of Taller Delfín del Cielo, fine arts, theater group, Canary Islands, Spain.
1985 Founding member of the theater group, La Iguana Marina, Mexico City, Mexico.
Collections
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Cornell Museum, Orlando Florida
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Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba
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Puerto Rico Art Museum, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Ponce Art Museum, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
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Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, Santurce, Puerto Rico.
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Ramapo College Museum, Ramapo, New Jersey.
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Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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University of Puerto Rico Art Museum, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Proyecto Ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Books:
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Metamorfosis, La pintura de Rafael Trelles (Metamorphosis, Rafael Trelles’ Painting). Introductory text: Carmen Ana Pont, Editorial Terranova, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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El pez en llamas, poems, Publicaciones Gaviota, San Juan Puerto Rico.