By Răzvan Ion
Derek Abella is a queer Cuban-American illustrator and writer living in New York. Illustrating otherworldliness and nostalgia, Derek creates dream-like sequences that offer an idyllic perspective on the past. He works across print and digital and enhanced publications like The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, Pitchfork, and many more. His distinctive style and attention to detail make him a highly sought-after editorial illustrator. We profile the 28-year-old artist and his impressive career.
Derek Abella, Roof Access. Themes created for Google Chrome/Chromebook to commemorate Pride Month. Courtesy of the artist.
Derek Abella’s work captivates with an intricate attention to detail that transcends mere visual appeal. His illustrations compel viewers to linger over specific details, plays of light, and signature textures that elevate his compositions. Abella’s unique approach, described as a means of abstraction, leverages cropping to create tension, tangents, and negative space. This technique, harmonizing with his textures and effects, transforms his pieces into intimate vignettes of moments and emotions. As Abella articulates, he aims to “push the readability” in his work, favouring a nuanced visual language over explicit storytelling.
“Growing up as an only child, I spent a lot of time alone reading, drawing, and watching television and movies. I would staple pieces of paper and rewrite and illustrate stories I saw on shows like Reading Rainbow because I thought I could do it better.” Abella’s artistic journey began in his childhood, shaped by a deep engagement with fine art, animation, and illustration. Born to Cuban immigrants and raised in Miami, Florida, young Derek was already critiquing and reimagining the shows he watched, crafting his own illustrated narratives. High school saw him immersed in concept art and figure drawing, drawing inspiration from legends like Mary Blair, Eyvind Earle, and Walt Peregoy. His formal education at Pratt Institute in New York, under mentors such as Ping Zhu, Jen Heuer, Jon Han, and Jing Wei, further honed his illustrative voice.
“The general dreamy aesthetic has always been a part of my work in different ways. I like the idea of blurring things, soft/harsh light, and leaving things out of the piece as a sort of universally understood way to show otherworldliness and nostalgia.” Abella describes his work “intentionally decorative, emotional, and dreamlike.” This has evolved into a distinct style that is unmistakable. His work reached millions of computer screens globally when it was chosen by Google to illustrate the search engine and Chrome wallpaper. I have to admit his Roof Access drawing is my wallpaper as well. On an Apple to be honest. I love that image.
Derek Abella, Studies, 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
This thoughtful and metaphorical approach has garnered Abella significant editorial commissions. He relishes the problem-solving aspect of these assignments, seeking to align his visual language with the narratives he illustrates. For instance, a poignant piece for Medium depicted the isolation of a woman untouched by human contact for a year, symbolized through swans whose negative space frames the solitary figure. Similarly, his work for The New York Times on the challenges of online dating during the pandemic resonated deeply with his own experiences, enriching his creative process.
Abella’s distinctive use of texture, developed through experimenting with Photoshop brush modes and filters, is inspired by early 20th-century Cuban and Floridian illustration, as well as old films and photography. This stylistic choice, motivated by a desire to evoke nostalgia, focuses on selective detail and idealization, reflecting both personal and universal sentiments.
“Editorial is really exciting and challenging. Sometimes I have very generous timelines, and sometimes I get an assignment while I’m having my morning coffee with sketches due by lunch, and a final due by dinner.”, concludes Abella.
Abella also hopes to expand his nostalgia-inducing and emotionally-fuelled work into longer-form pieces. He previously created two zines, one for TXTBooks and another for Social Species, which explore his own experiences of queerness through a combination of image-making and creative writing.
When I asked about the queer vision and discourse, Abella is becomes very passionate. “I’ve been really interested in discourses surrounding what queerness can be defined as, beyond academic and gendered/sexual definitions. Ocean Vuong, whose work I adore, discusses how queerness opens the door to innovation and reclaiming agency, and I agree. Queer people are always observing and internalizing in order to survive in the heteronormative structures we might be born into. Artists inherently need to observe and internalize in order to create, and I truly believe queer creatives take this to the next level. I think that like many queer artists, my work can revolve around sexuality, but that to me is not the only queer thing about my work. The other part of it involves amassing details and vignettes from my life in a particular way that allow me to create another reality in my pieces. Queer imagination and memory coexist vividly, and I think my work not only draws from that, but celebrates it.”
With his distinct narrative style, Derek Abella is set to continue captivating and challenging audiences in new and profound ways.
Derek Abella, Selfie, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.
Răzvan Ion is the founder of GAY45 and a professor of curatorial studies and critical thinking at the University of Vienna.
More drawings by Derek Abella can be found on his website.
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