Art isn’t just something Eliana Barela creates, it’s how she lives. Raised in Tomé, New Mexico, her visual language blossoms from the roots of New Mexican culture and the deep religious traditions of her Catholic upbringing. While religious themes appear often, they’re not declarations, they’re questions, invitations into identity, belief, and becoming.

Eliana Barela creates art that tells the story of New Mexico, its land, its people, and the layered truths. Through oil paintings and santos, she reclaims visual space for Chicano and Chicana identities. Her work is deeply personal, rooted in rural New Mexico and shaped by Catholic traditions, family legacies, and the unspoken weight of generational roles. Each piece is a tribute and a challenge, demythologizing and honoring a history that lives in blood, memory, and paint.