Raydel Blanco Valdes

Woodbridge, VA

Raydel Blanco Valdes (b. 1988, Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban-born visual artist based in Northern Virginia. A graduate of the San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts in Havana, his work explores migration, displacement, and the architecture of belonging through expressive urban landscapes. Using acrylic, oil, and mixed media, Blanco transforms city scenes into meditations on memory, identity, and resilience. His series Luxury in Decay and Diornelys confront the tension between material culture and the immigrant experience. Blanco's work is included in the art collections of the Conrad Hotel, the Waldorf Astoria's Willard InterContinental, Hilton Arlington, and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. He was a finalist in the Biennale Made in VA 2024 and received Best in Show at the Boardwalk Art Show 2025.