My name is Amyel Oliveros and I’m a gay, first-generation Filipino-American immigrant. Growing up I knew I didn’t fit the mold of a typical Filipino. In the Philippines, my grandfather, Celso AL. Carunungan was a famous writer imprisoned by former president Marcos. He died while on house arrest, two weeks after I was born. My grandfather was a powerful force in my family and in the Philippines. His life’s work brought us pride but also backlash and trauma. I immigrated to the US at age 13. This move upended my world, having to leave family and friends and the only home I’d ever known was scary and difficult. This was also around the time I began to understand that I was different from the other boys, which presented further challenges. In order to survive I had to create my own world, and painting is my way of imagining and expressing that world. Like chosen family, my chosen world is as real to me as any other. It allows me to escape, think differently, and reconcile the different worlds I constantly struggle with. I would describe my paintings as vivid, with vibrant colors that express liveliness and full of symbols inspired by mythology and surrealism. 

I went to art school at the Pratt Institute in New York, and then I finished my Master’s of Arts at the University of Konstfack in Stockholm. Eight years ago, I finally settled back in the Bay, and I’ve been a happy San Francisco resident since.

For inquiries or prints email me below at theamyel@gmail.com