Puerto Rican Artist Kayleen Berry Brings Art, Science, and Heritage Together at Hostos

 
“We are one family, all of us.” The words of Hostos President Dr. Daisy Cocco De Filippis rang warmly at the Hostos Research Center on October 7, as she welcomed Puerto Rican artist Kayleen Berry back to the Bronx community where her journey began. The event, held in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, was more than an artist talk; it was a homecoming.
 
Berry, a Bronx-born Puerto Rican whose practice now moves fluidly between Upstate New York and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, was introduced not only as a gifted artist but also as a member of the Hostos family through her father, Public Safety Officer DeJesus.
 
“When Officer DeJesus told me his daughter was an artist,” President Cocco De Filippis recalled, “I immediately knew we had to celebrate one of our own, because it means celebrating all of us.” Her remarks were followed by a powerful recitation of Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman,” delivered by Student Government Association President Nichelle Hemphill.
Then, it was time to hear from the artist herself. Standing before a projection of her vivid, large-scale works, Berry opened with gratitude: “Thank you, Madam President, for that beautiful introduction that made my heart so warm. Thank you to my father, who taught me to be both disciplined and courageous. And thank you to this community, which has always felt like home.”

Her presentation traced her path from the High School of Art and Design in New York City to earning a BFA in Textiles from the California College of the Arts, to a high-profile role at Levi, where she served as a Print Designer for the Men’s Global division. There, she helped shape distinctive visual languages for widely seen collections, including the fan-favorite cotton “Breathe” print, and led collaborations with cultural icons and brands such as Denim Tears, Nintendo, and Pokémon.
 
“I got to draw and paint for a living,” Berry said. “It was a dream job. You never know where a pattern will travel and sometimes it shows up in places you never imagined.”
 
One of those places: HBO. “I was watching ‘The White Lotus' with everyone else,” she laughed, “and suddenly I thought, ‘Wait…that’s my design!’ Seeing it onscreen reminded me that art doesn’t stay still. It moves through people, places, and stories.”
 
After Levi, Berry deepened her technical practice at Minted, learning the fibers and mechanics of textiles. A layoff became a turning point, propelling her into independent work with boutique labels (including Anthropologie and Jamaican brand Papaiÿo) and, ultimately, into the full embrace of her fine art practice.  
But her story didn’t end in fashion. Berry described how curiosity about the ecosystems of Puerto Rico, sparked by discovering primates on a research island via an app, led her to collaborate with primatologists, anthropologists, and tropical ecologists on the island.
 
“I wanted to know: who are we sharing space with? That question opened a door to science and, through it, to new forms of art. For me, surreal color and scientific data are not opposites. They are two languages telling the same story.”

Berry shared works exploring endangered Puerto Rican parrots, the ecology of moths disrupted by hurricanes, and the symbolic resonance of the coquí frog. She described how her canvases, sometimes pre-dyed with natural pigments from palms in her Aguadilla backyard, become sites of both mourning and hope.
   
“When I paint the parrot or the coquí, I’m not just painting a species. I’m painting memory, resilience, and the possibility of survival. I want viewers to ask not just, ‘What am I looking at?’ but ‘What do we owe to what we share this planet with?’”
 
She spoke candidly about balancing scientific accuracy and creative freedom: “The data is black and white: numbers, hierarchies, percentages of DNA. My task as an artist is to take that truth and turn it into something that breathes, something that makes us feel. That’s where art begins.”

During the Q&A session, Berry ended with a call to courage and connection, speaking directly to students: “Don’t be afraid to reach out. The scientists I worked with were strangers at first. They became collaborators because I dared to ask. Don’t obsess over finding your style…just keep learning. Remain a student forever. And remember, we are part of the natural world. Small acts matter. A brushstroke, a question, a kindness; they ripple outward.”
 
The room erupted in applause, not only for the art but for the spirit that infused it.
 
Learn more about her work here.