My work is born from displacement. It explores, from the intimate to the universal, what it means to migrate, to transform, to adapt. Through mixed media, I address migration not only as a physical journey, but as an emotional, historical, and symbolic experience. I work with layers, textures, and visual contrasts that express the friction between displacement and belonging. The migrant doesn’t just move: they deconstruct, rebuild, and reinvent themselves. My pieces reveal that liminal space where identity floats between what was and what is becoming. But change doesn’t only happen by moving. Even while staying in the same place, time transforms everything: the city, language, body, and relationships. Even the past can feel like a constant relocation. This condition—being “still” yet in movement—is central to my work. Adaptation becomes an art form. My work draws on both personal and collective experiences, from historic events like the Mariel Boatlift to quieter displacements caused by environment, politics, or memory. In exhibitions such as Displacement & Emplacement (Sunrise Civic Center Art Gallery, 2024) and the 11th Annual Faculty Exhibition at Nova Southeastern University (2024–2025), I’ve opened spaces where art becomes both refuge and resistance. I’m Gregg Rivas, a figurative-abstract artist born in Caracas and naturalized as a U.S. citizen. I hold a B.A. in Fine Arts from Marist College and an M.F.A. in Painting and Drawing from SUNY New Paltz. My work is a deep exploration of identity, time, and transformation. Each brushstroke resonates with those who, like me, have lived through the vertigo of losing and rebuilding their place in the world. Art is my language of adaptation—and also my home.