Text from a critique by Gladys E. Ocampo, Art Historian, Museum Expert and Lecturer of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

The artistic production of Luis Romero (Colombian), may be understood as a dynamic and chromatically driven visual discourse, in which color assumes a central and structuring role within the poetics of the contemporary Colombian Caribbean. His work operates within a dialectical interplay between figuration and abstraction, where color functions not merely as a formal device but as a symbolic system intimately linked to cultural identity. In this sense, chromatic choices acquire semantic density, articulating meanings that resonate with the socio-cultural context from which they emerge.

Romero’s oeuvre can be situated within a broader narrative of historical resilience, wherein symbolic reconstruction serves as a means of engaging with collective memory and identity formation.
From a formal standpoint, his compositions reveal a complex articulation of geometric planes and abstract structures, resulting in a deliberate fragmentation of pictorial space.
Figures—human bodies, avian forms, and festive scenes associated with Carnival—are subjected to visual tension and perceptual ambiguity, compelling the viewer to actively participate in the reconstruction of the image.
Such compositional strategies recall the formal innovations of Synthetic Cubism and Latin-American Constructivism, while simultaneously incorporating a distinctly Caribbean sensibility. Within this framework, color emerges as the primary agent of meaning, transcending decorative function to convey the experiential and sensory dimensions of the Barranquilla Carnival—characterized by movement, music, dance, and the performative traditions of Congo culture.

Romero’s work also establishes an intertextual dialogue with the oeuvre of Alejandro Obregón, albeit reconfigured through a more ludic and fragmented visual language, one that departs from the latter’s more dramatic and expressionist tendencies.
Furthermore, the artist’s engagement with Caribbean cultural production is intrinsically linked to historical processes such as migration and mestizaje. This connection invites an anthropological reading of his work, foregrounding ancestral cultural frameworks and echoing the structuralist perspectives advanced by Claude Lévi-Strauss, particularly in relation to the persistence and transformation of cultural symbols.

Key works such as Resilience Carnival and Colombia exemplify a process of re-signification of national identity within the field of contemporary art. Romero’s academic formation—spanning the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Barranquilla and the Art Students League of New York—is evident in the synthesis and refinement of his visual language.
His treatment of spatial composition, informed in part by the influence of Pop Art, reflects both formal experimentation and academic rigor, extending across multiple media, including painting, printmaking, sculpture, and mosaic.

From a museological perspective, Romero’s work demonstrates significant potential for both individual and collective exhibitions, given its conceptual coherence and visual impact. Notably, his piece The Light of the Carnival forms part of the collection of the Museo del Carnaval de Barranquilla.

In sum, Romero’s artistic practice succeeds in transcending regional specificity, situating the experiential realities of the Colombian Caribbean within the broader discourse of international contemporary art. His work thus constitutes a compelling example of how localized cultural identity can be articulated and projected onto a global stage, as evidenced by its exhibition at venues such as Rockefeller Center in New York.