ABOUT ME
I am deeply fascinated by the organisms in the ocean and their ecosystems and how we can learn and relate to them. Through freediving, I connect with this world—it’s where I feel both grounded and weightless at the same time.In these depths, the ocean’s presence feels enigmatic. It drives me to shape the intangible into sculptures and installations that reflect a world where beings evolve or gradually disappear.
My approach is guided by intuition and shaped by speculative elements based on untold tales of my Caribbean heritage, weaving together folklore, Caribbean cultural history and mythology. I see traditions, symbols, and rituals as a map that helps me create a dialogue connecting the new possibilities, grounding my ideas in something meaningful.
Studying the morphology of both living and extinct organisms, I shift between the mysteries of the ocean and my heritage. Using 3D software, I transform collected data into forms that explore the relationships between structure, color, and repetition. Working with materials such as minerals, silicone, wood, porcelain, and metal, I begin with their fluid, malleable states and transform them through my process into solid forms that reflect stories I wish to tell. For me, it’s about making intangible ideas feel real—something you can touch, hold, or simply feel through their presence.
In addition to my artistic practice, I’m currently teaching digital fabrication at the Wood and Furniture School.
1990 Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Lives and works in Rotterdam,
The Netherlands.
EDUCATIONS
2022-2022 Master, Parametric Design & Digital Fabrication, Spain, Madrid.
2014-2018 Bachelor with honours, Product Design, Utrecht School of Art, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2017-2017 Bachelor Industrial Design, Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto, Japan.
AWARDS & GRANTS
2025 Cultuurfonds
2025 Stokroos Fund Seed
2025 Nominated Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation & Ars Electronica
2024 CBK Center for Visual Arts Rotterdam
2024 Fonds Kwadraat
2024 Nominated Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation & Ars Electronica
2019 Nominated Young Blood Award
PRESS & INTERVIEWS
Interview: Omroep Flevoland
Interview: DAR Cultural Agency
REPRESENTED
Currently represented by DAR cultural agency.
For inquiries, you can contact DAR on : info@dar.nu
CONTACT OR VISIT ME
+31 0649813719
info@cristaldelacruz.com
Insta: cristaldelacruzc
Studio visit at Gustoweg 45
3029 AR Rotterdam The Netherland
SOLO EXHIBITION
2026/2027 (upcoming) Voces de Yucayeque
2026 (upcoming) Areítos: Memoria de ritos.
2025 (on view) DARxTENT : Material migration
2024 CEMÍ: Yocahú & Efigie, De Achtertuin, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
GROUP EXHIBITION
2025 (upcoming) Translating Nature, curated by Marie Hugny & Fio de Lange
2025 (upcoming) DARxTENT
2025 (upcoming) RE:FWD – A Reply to the Present, A Forward to Us All, Bijbels Museum, NDSM Fuse, curated by Caithlin Courtney Chong, Thierno Deme and Mees Elias van Zanten, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2025 (on view) RE:FWD – A Reply to the Present, A Forward to Us All, Bijbels Museum, Kunstlinie, curated by Caithlin Courtney Chong, Thierno Deme and Mees Elias van Zanten, Almere, Netherlands
2024 The Vitrine Project: Art Installation in a monumental building, GHG, curated by DAR Cultural Agency, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2023 Selected for open studio tour for Rotterdam Art Week, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2022 Selected for open studio tour for Rotterdam Art Week, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2021 Zero Emission by 2099, MAMA Gallery, Curated by Mary Ponomareva, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2021 1M2, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
2019 Tetem Gallery. Exhibition, Gogbot festival, Enschede, The Netherlands.
2018 Gallery De Pastoe Fabriek, Graduation show, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2017 Kyoto Seika University Gallery, Graduation show, Kyoto, Japan.
COLLABORATIONS
2022 The Sacred Life of Plants, Oerol Festival, Scenography for art sculptures of Rosallie Wammes, Terschelling, The Netherlands.
2019 Cultural Utrecht, Dom Church, This installation was developed as part of the Installation48 project, Together with the artist Stan Wannet, Utrecht, The Netherlands.