Pelo Malo (Bad Hair)

16" x 30’"
Graphite and mixed media on wood panel
2026

"Pelo Malo (Bad Hair) reclaims the colonial imposition of “bad hair.” Here, hair sharpens, becoming both weapon and identity. What was once marked as a defect now cuts through what was imposed. The blade that cuts is also hair that grows back, as identity regenerates and defends itself with every cycle. Dividing Goddesses series."

Pedro Troncoso (b.1996, Dominican Republic) is a New York–based artist whose work layers erased narratives into dreamlike spaces where blurred identities confront colonial impact. In the fragile space between ancestry and autonomy, his work asks: how much of our heritage are we willing to negotiate or rebuild? He earned his BFA in Illustration at Parsons School of Design after formative studies at Altos de Chavón, La Escuela de Diseño (DR), and holds an MFA in Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art. His work has been shown at the 29th and 31st Dominican Biennials, NADA, Art Central Hong Kong, ComplexCon, and the AXA Art Prize, with additional exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, and Beijing. His practice has been profiled in Blanc Magazine, Whitewall, Artlyst, New American Paintings, among others.