Sugar Baby by Ray Arcadio

Sugar Baby by Ray Arcadio, 2023, Hand Embellished print with collage, 14 x 11 in

I am Sugar Baby, where I come from is where y’all wish you were. There, the rivers run rampant, and the light and vibrancy reign supreme. I am a seed that is blooming whose fruit you consume. Mysterious child of ancient people who will rule this world through your matrix. My DNA is of gods and spirits with melanin to spare. I bring you lips to copy and hair to appropriate. Be warned, my mask is a weapon of mass destruction. It grows and suffocates your arctic heart, it protects me from your evil eye and comforts my eternal soul.

Ray Arcadio is a New Jersey artist, born in the Dominican Republic. He is known for his InShapeUniverse and Poprox styles. Arcadio’s work is about the immigrant mind, identity, and the human struggle to truly understand oneself. Ray’s work encompasses masks, symbols, urban and Indigenous markings as well as socio-political messages. Whether in the form of superheroes or through his urban stylization referencing his Caribbean roots, Arcadio’s work is playful and thought-provoking. Ray Arcadio obtained a B.F.A from New Jersey City University. His background is in graphic design and street art with numerous murals around the east coast accredited to him. He is a founding member of Jersey City’s own culture-jamming collaborative group Artfux, who were pioneers in street art. Arcadio has exhibited extensively around the United States and has appeared in various newspapers, magazines, and television shows. Among his solo shows he has also participated in numerous group shows throughout New York and New Jersey, and was chosen as one of 30 artists to represent the state in the “The Visual Imaginary of Latinas/os in New Jersey,” sponsored by Rutgers University’s Center for Latinos Arts and Culture. Arcadio’s work is in various private collections including the Jersey City Museum in Jersey City, NJ, The Museum of Modern Religious Art at the University of St. Louis in St. Louis, MO, and the Museo Moderno de Arte, Santo Domingo, RD.