Perla Gerez Hernandez is a 2D visual artist who focuses on oil and mixed media paintings. Her work is deeply rooted in the folklore and lived experiences of her native country, the Dominican Republic. She pursued a Bachelor's in Studio Arts and minored in Art History at Meredith College.

Perla creates oil and acrylic paintings that examine Latin America’s struggle with gentrification and displacement. Layering paint allows her to create color variety that is intrinsic to the Caribbean visual identity. She incorporates collage elements, usually packaging from businesses foreign to Latin America, that become symbolic. The introduced pieces interact with the local figures who are left to ignore, accept, or resist the changes to their environment.

Her paintings have been published twice in Meredith College’s Colton Review, and one of her pieces won Second Place in Art for a Literary Magazine at the North Carolina Media Association. Along with her classmates, she is currently working in the exhibition Dear Diary, The Stories That Shape Us, which opens on April 2nd of 2026.