Insider Outsider Series: Oscar Molina (August 4)

Join us on Sunday, August 4, from 11:00–12:00 pm for the fourth presentation of InsiderOutsider: New Voices in the Art World, moderated by artist and curator MAGO. InsiderOutsider is intended as a series of conversations featuring underrepresented artists whose works challenge, intrigue, inspire, and offer opportunities for broadening art circles and engaging in creative dialogue.

Oscar Molina is a painter and sculptor from El Salvador (b. 1971) best known for his Children of the World series. These powerful works are inspired by the artist’s vivid memories as a 16-year old making the treacherous journey through the desert to escape the violence of then war-torn El Salvador in the hopes of finding safe haven in the United States. Newly arrived in the US, the ever-industrious Molina found a talent for landscaping and architectural projects. Over the years, he built a highly successful stone masonry business in Southampton, NY while devoting more and more time to formal art studies and entering the world of painting and sculpture. By the age of 30, Oscar Molina was committing the majority of his time and energy to his true passion–making art.

Today, Oscar Molina is known and respected as a prodigious, multifaceted artist who gives back to the community. In 2023 alone, his “Children of the World” sculptures graced the grounds of Long Island Museum, the Southampton Arts Center, and a major migrating installation at LongHouse Reserve. He is a board member of the Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and donates his time and artworks to raise money for this and other worthy charities.

MAGO was born in New York City on June 5^th, 1982, to Colombian immigrants, weeks after their arrival to the United States.  They nicknamed their “special delivery” MAGO (Spanish for magician/wise man). MAGO is the symbol and signature used by this Latinx installation artist whose gutsy urban education and Latino heritage have developed into a signature style characterized by cross-cultural conversations, becoming the many faces of creativity. MAGO E. Martinez envisions the unimaginable and embodies multiple streams of innovative creation, inspiring culture to another plateau. First as an acclaimed installation artist and now a multifaceted professional with 15+ years of accomplishments, he has successfully labored in a spectrum of areas that allows him to connect with individuals as well as a diverse audience. 

The InsiderOutsider series is made possible with support from Agnes Gund and the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning and County Legislator Ann Welker.