Firelei Báez

Firelei Báez (born 1981 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic) is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York City. Her multidisciplinary practice spans painting, drawing, and installation, often incorporating materials such as acrylic, gouache, and collage. Báez is known for her vibrant, densely layered works that explore themes of identity, migration, diasporic histories, and the legacy of colonialism, particularly through the lens of Afro-Caribbean and Black feminist narratives. Her motifs frequently include reimagined figures, mythological hybrids, and historical cartographies, reflecting an interest in speculative histories and cultural hybridity. Báez’s work is held in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, as well as the Tate in London. She has received several accolades, including a Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. Recognised as a rising force in the contemporary art world, Báez’s market is increasingly active, with growing representation at international fairs and auctions, signalling a strengthening and more liquid presence in the art market.