Born and raised in Miami, Florida, the debut of Alexander Mijares into the art world was a long time coming. Mijares has a keen eye for finding inspiration everywhere—whether it’s in people (mostly women), traveling abroad to a far away locale, or just observing culture as it exists in itself. Here in Miami (“a city of passion”), Mijares has been exposed to culture from all over the world, and his family roots in Cuba and Spain have helped to give his artwork a unique, colorful, and almost historic feel. Mijares creates art that has significant meaning to him, such as a friendship or the life and death of a loved one, and that sense of purpose comes across on the canvas.

Alex grew up sketching and doodling, and briefly dabbled in graffiti. Quite simply, he had a creative gene that stayed burning bright. Life experience is a creative catalyst for Mijares, who believes “a day without meeting someone new is a day wasted.” Each encounter has a purpose, each person a piece to the overall puzzle of his life. Alex translates that puzzle ideology to his paintings, where he constructs figures seemingly from puzzle pieces that comprise the person of focus in each work of art.

Following a successful opening exhibit on February 23, 2012, Alex has found himself involved in various artistic endeavors throughout South Florida. Never one to rest on his laurels, Alex also runs a family business and recently completed his MBA. Upon moving into a new apartment, he searched for a statement art piece to hang in his home—when nothing quite jumped out at him, he created something himself. Things show no sign of slowing down for Mijares, who takes his success gracefully and with humility, who says a “lot of emotion” goes into creating his work—and he just wants to grab viewers and engage them.