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Raúl Romero

@rauoool

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Artist - Philadelphia, PA
Check out my work on view this summer links below ~
@_artphilly + @efa_nyc + @sirenartsap + @phlatinfilmfest

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“Dissolving ice, the labor of melting,” a truly incredible community artistic action and performance last night by Philadelphia based artist Raúl Romero.⁠ @rauoool
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“What started off as Raúl Romero’s solo performance, pushing a nearly 300lb block of ice from Siren Arts to the beach, became an inspiring moment of community determination! An incredible metaphor for what community can do when we come together.” Shares Siren Arts curator Victoria Reis @victorialynnreis
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Thank you to all who joined in support! Video coming soon!⁠

Presented as part of the “States of Matter” exhibition at Siren Arts, Romero’s live performance art action recontextualizes Francis Alÿs’ seminal 1997 work, “Paradox of Praxis I (Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing)”. Where Alÿs originally pushed a heavy block of ice through the streets of Mexico City until it melted into a faint trail of water, Romero's iteration infuses the act with contemporary political urgency. By explicitly tying the physical block of ice to the acronym ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the performance explores the chilling metaphors of institutional pressure, systemic erasure, and the melting away of human rights. As the block dissolves under the friction of the hot asphalt and the coastal air of Asbury Park, the act of ‘making something lead to nothing’ becomes a stark commentary on bureaucracy, borders, and the exhausting, invisible labor of survival within the diasporic experience.
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NEXT WEEK’S FINALE PERFORMANCE of Siren Arts 10th Anniversary “States of Matter” Summer Artist Residency Program: ⁠Larissa Velez- Jackson (NYC)⁠ @lareesa_lvj
Residency: August 18 - August 21⁠
Artist Talk: Weds. August 19, 6 PM, Siren Arts⁠
Performance: Thurs. August 20, 7 PM, 2nd Ave Beach⁠
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Photos by Sara Stadtmiller⁠ @srsphotography taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @rauoool

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2 months ago

Now on view at Studio 105 at Ray Philly: “Con Semillas de aquí y allá” by Philadelphia-based artist Raúl Romero.

This immersive sound installation features Calabash gourds, grown and dried in Romero’s West Philly garden, reimagined as sculptural speakers. Traditionally used to make the Güiro, a Puerto Rican percussion instrument, the gourds now carry layered field recordings of Coquí frogs from Puerto Rico and Katydids from Pennsylvania.

Together, they create a soundscape that reflects on migration, memory, and the cultural connection between the island and the Northeastern U.S.

Photos: @rauoool

Studio 105 at Ray Philly
1525 N. American Street, Philadelphia
Open Wednesday–Sunday, 12–6PM

#phillyarts #soundsculpture #soundartist taken in Ray Philly by @rauoool

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a year ago

Artwork- Gravitational Grit and Trancendental Rhythms in 6/8, seeking connection
photos by @rophotoman

Excited to participate in “After the Rains”, a group exhibition at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts!

🗓️ May 6 – July 24, 2026

📍EFA Gallery, 323 West 39th St., 3rd Fl, New York, NY
Hours: Tue–Fri, 12–5 PM

Featuring:
Selva Aparicio (@selvaaparicio)
Bianca Abdi-Boragi (@biancaabdiboragi)
Von Coffin (@coffin1001)
Armando Guadalupe Cortés (@armandogcortes)
Abbey McBride (@abbey.mcb)
Virginia L. Montgomery (@virginia.l.montgomery)
Randi Renate (@randiirenate)
Raúl Romero (@rauoool)
Susan Silas (@susansilas)

Curated by: Michael Eckblad (@michaeleckblad) and Deric Carner (@ithoughtiwasreal)

Through hybrid forms traversing sculpture, installation, sound, and video, the artists engage themes of transience, renewal, and the interconnectedness of all things. Moving between the organic and the manufactured, the works explore reflections on mortality, technology, and human-nature relations through materials such as adobe, bronze, dandelion seeds, and digital video. taken in Elizabeth Foundation for The Arts by @rauoool

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4 months ago

LAST WEEK TO VIEW!

Be fully immersed in the sounds and sights of “States of Matter,” an exhibition by Philadelphia based artist Raúl Romero on view through this Sat. September 5 at Siren Arts!

Gallery Hours: Weds - Sat, 12-6pm
📍Siren Arts at the Asbury Ocean Club - Corner of 4th Ave & Kingsley St. Asbury Park, NJ

Utilizing audio recordings captured from the Atlantic Ocean along the coastlines of Asbury Park and Ocean Grove, in addition to studio recordings of ice melting, Romero constructs a series of ‘sound pictures’. These auditory landscapes serve to illuminate what is happening beneath the surface, giving voice and light to the historically unseen and unheard narratives of migration. The ocean is recontextualized not merely as a geographic barrier, but as a vast archive of movement, memory, and continuous transition.

The physical centerpiece of the exhibition features custom, hand-hammered copper reflecting pools filled with water. Activated by transducers, these vessels are resonated with low-frequency audio from Bomba music recordings and oceanic sound (music in the reel above!). As acoustic frequencies pass through the metal, they manifest as physical ripples and standing-wave patterns on the water’s surface—offering a striking visual translation of sound while embodying the literal transmission of energy through a fluid medium.

Raúl Romero is a Philadelphia-based artist who combines sound and the environment in installations, sculptures, and other visual and sensorial experiences. Drawing on his Puerto Rican heritage, Romero uses material language to foster intercommunication between people and their surroundings.

Learn more! Click the link in bio.
Siren Arts is a program of @transformerdc taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @rauoool

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a month ago

PART II: Artist Talk with this weeks “Siren Arts: States of Matter” artist Raúl Romero @rauoool and Siren Arts & Transformer Founder and Curator Victoria Reis @victorialynnreis 🌊

Raúl will be performing this piece TONIGHT, Thurs. August 13. Community members and spectators are invited to meet at Siren Arts - Corner of 4th Ave & Kingsley St - at 6:45PM where Romero will begin an action leading towards the beach.

Raúl Romero is a Philadelphia-based artist who combines sound and the environment in installations, sculptures, and other visual and sensorial experiences.
Drawing on his Puerto Rican heritage, Romero uses material language to foster intercommunication between people and their surroundings. Romero's career is marked by notable honors, including being named a 2024 PEW Fellow in the Arts and receiving a Philadelphia City Council Resolution in recognition of Hispanic Heritage, underscoring his impactful contributions. Current exhibitions are on view at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in NYC and at Transformer's Siren Arts exhibition space in Asbury Park, NJ. For more information visit: https:// www.raulromero.com/; IG: @rauoool taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @rauoool

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2 months ago

ARTIST TALK with @rauoool & Siren Arts curator @victorialynnreis PART 1!⁠
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Thank you so much to artist Raúl Romero @rauoool for sharing insights behind his upcoming performance “Dissolving ice, the labor of melting” as well his current exhibition at Siren Arts: “States of Matter.”⁠
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Raúl will be performing this piece TONIGHT, Thurs. August 13. Community members and spectators are invited to meet at Siren Arts - Corner of 4th Ave & Kingsley St - at 6:45PM where Romero will begin an action leading towards the beach. ⁠
⁠
Raúl Romero is a Philadelphia-based artist who combines sound and the environment in installations, sculptures, and other visual and sensorial experiences. Drawing on his Puerto Rican heritage, Romero uses material language to foster intercommunication between people and their surroundings. Romero’s career is marked by notable honors, including being named a 2024 PEW Fellow in the Arts and receiving a Philadelphia City Council Resolution in recognition of Hispanic Heritage, underscoring his impactful contributions. Current exhibitions are on view at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in NYC and at Transformer’s Siren Arts exhibition space in Asbury Park, NJ. For more information visit: https://www.raulromero.com/; IG: @rauoool⁠ taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @rauoool

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2 months ago

A big ‘welcome back’ to this week’s Siren Arts Artist in Residence: Philadelphia, PA based artist Raúl Romero! @rauoool 🌊⁠

Join us this Wed 8/11 6pm at the Siren Arts exhibition pop up space for a talk with Raúl & Transformer Director/ Siren Arts curator Victoria Reis @victorialynnreis as they discuss his “States of Matter” exhibition & upcoming performance art action on Thurs 8/12!

Community & guests are invited to met at Siren Arts exhibition space at 4th & Kingsley for this Thursday’s performance art event: "Dissolving Ice, the labor of melting" by Raúl Romero.

We will gather at the Siren Arts at 6:45pm Thurs 8/13, where Romero will begin an action leading toward the beach.
⁠
"Dissolving Ice, the labor of melting" recontextualizes Francis Alÿs' seminal 1997 work, Paradox of Praxis I (Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing). Where Alÿs originally pushed a heavy block of ice through the streets of Mexico City until it melted into a faint trail of water, Romero's iteration infuses the act with contemporary political urgency. By explicitly tying the physical block of ice to the acronym ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the performance explores the chilling metaphors of institutional pressure, systemic erasure, and the melting away of human rights. As the block dissolves under the friction of the hot asphalt and the coastal air of Asbury Park, the act of pushing ice becomes a stark commentary on bureaucracy, borders, and the exhausting, invisible labor of survival within the diasporic experience.⁠"
⁠
Free & Open to the public!
⁠
Raúl Romero is a Philadelphia-based artist who combines sound and the environment in installations, sculptures, and other visual and sensorial experiences. Drawing on his Puerto Rican heritage, Romero uses material language to foster intercommunication between people and their surroundings. ⁠
⁠
Learn more! Click the link in bio! by @rauoool

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2 months ago

Join us for an artist talk @sirenartsap on August 12th at 6pm! taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @rauoool

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2 months ago

#summervibes☀️ taken in Wissahickon Park by @rauoool

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3 months ago

On your way to the beach this Fourth of July weekend, stop by Siren Arts and check out our current exhibition, “States of Matter” by Raúl Romero (@rauoool)! The perfect way to cool down and enjoy some amazing artwork

Hours this week: Wed - Sat, 12 PM to 6 PM
PLUS this week there will be a special projected activation every night from 8 PM to 4 AM 🌠

🎥 by Raúl Romero taken in Asbury Park, New Jersey by @rauoool

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On view June 20 – September 5, 2026, States of Matter exhibition by Raùl Romero @rauoool explores transformation, material memory, and the passage of time through works that continue to evolve throughout the summer. ⁠Extended summer exhibition hours: Wednesday - Saturday 12 - 6 PM⁠
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A central sculpture contains seawater collected from Asbury Park, which turned blue over the course of two days as it oxidized in contact with the copper sculpture. Throughout the exhibition, every work engages metal in some form, from sculptural elements to hand-patinaed frames, highlighting processes of change, weathering, and reaction.⁠
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Also featured are Romero’s “sound pictures”: luminous pink images created from recordings of ice melting in different kinds of water, translating ephemeral environmental events into visual form.⁠
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As day turns to night, a video projection activates the space from 8 PM–4 AM, extending the exhibition beyond gallery hours 🌙🌠⁠
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Join us this summer and return often to witness how the exhibition shifts over the course of its presentation!⁠
⁠ by @rauoool

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3 months ago

Qai City Talks was so warm and HEARTFELT with @rauoool 🇵🇷🖼️🌳👋🏾🌱🏙️ #102 by @rauoool

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