Kaelyn Andrade’s work both absorbs and critiques the development of Mexican identity in the U.S and Mexico, and especially depictions of Mexican women. She is interested in the results and repercussions of the representations of Latinas, and how that affects Latina self-perception. Andrade gathers inspiration from representations of women by considering sources from precolonial Mexico to contemporary work in the U.S. and Americas, looking at traditional methods of art as well as representations in mainstream media.

Andrade also draws from her own experiences growing up in the U.S as a Mexican, Salvadoran American who identifies as a woman, often depicting herself as a subject. Much of this work is figurative and representational and employs the light and vibrant colors of the traditional “Mexican” color palette, while incorporating new reference materials, such as her own photographs and images from a more contemporary mass media vocabulary. By utilizing the iconography of Mexican culture, but updating and revising their contexts, her goal is to raise questions, introduce tensions, and garner new identifications.