ARTIST: WILL HERNANDEZ, MONA LISA 2001: Oil on Wood Panel, 49 in X 30 in
This oil painting is an homage to the World Trade Center. Depicts the 9-11-2001 terrorist attack. Portrait of Gabriela.
WILL HERNANDEZ’S ART TEACHER AND MENTOR OSCAR MAGNAN
ART EDUCATION
Will Hernandez studied at Saint Peter ‘s College in Jersey City, New Jersey
He studied art under the artist Oscar Magnan. "I am deeply honored to have been discovered by Oscar Magnan and taken under his tutelage. Magnan made an oil portrait of me as Christ. He told me that the painting is hanging at a Bronx Monastery.
Fr. Oscar Magnan (1929-2024) worked as a restorer of Old Master paintings. He participated in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel restoration project in 1985. His paintings have been featured in several one-man shows in North America and Europe, and he is the winner of awards from the Canada Council, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Hereward Lester Cooke Foundation. His work is represented in several collections, including those of the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris
Painting of Will Hernandez
Oscar Magnan painted this oil painting of his art student, Will Hernandez. It currently hangs in a monastery in the Bronx, New York, USA
SACRIFICE & BETRAYAL Will Hernandez’s POLITICAL ICONOGRAPHY
Sacrifice and Betrayal:
Will Hernandez describes his work as narrative painting—each canvas a chapter in a spiritual and
philosophical quest. His ongoing series, The Judas-Messiah Complex, stems from a deeply
personal loss: the death of his father, which catalyzed his questioning of God’s existence and
presence in earthly suffering. In this series, Hernandez juxtaposes figures who, in his view, embody
either Christ-like transcendence or the archetype of Judas. The result is a powerful exploration of
martyrdom, betrayal, and the thin, volatile boundary between sacrifice and violence.
In ‘JFK vs. Oswald’ (2024), the artist presents a bold diptych: John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey
Oswald face one another across a vivid red field, each occupying a symmetrical panel. Oswald,
dressed plainly and holding a rifle, stares toward a composed Kennedy, whose folded arms suggest
dignity and resolve. The stylization of both figures—somber, simplified, iconic—invokes religious
art, suggesting a martyrdom narrative, while the searing red background evokes blood, conviction,
and the spectacle of historical memory. The painting is not just about an assassination, but about
power, projection, and the haunting symmetry of belief and betrayal.
A similar visual rhetoric is found in ‘Gandhi vs. Godse’ (2024), another oil diptych in which
Nathuram Godse raises a pistol toward a serene, prayerful Mahatma Gandhi. The composition is
stark, its emotional gravity undeniable. Gandhi’s white robe and closed eyes emphasize his role as
spiritual symbol, while the red background again underlines the violence of ideological extremism.
The viewer is left to grapple with the moment before the shot—suspended in a moral limbo that
feels both eternal and immediate. Through this, Hernandez reframes historical martyrdom as a
ritual confrontation between light and shadow, truth and annihilation.
THE UNIQUENESS OF WIL HERNANDEZ'S ART
What distinguishes Hernandez’s practice is his willingness to hold a mirror to history’s most painful
contradictions. His paintings are not didactic; they are meditations on legacy, human failure, and
the search for redemption in a world that often punishes its prophets. With a painterly language
that echoes early Renaissance altarpieces and contemporary political murals alike, Hernandez
invites viewers to sit with discomfort and ask difficult questions. In doing so, he asserts the
relevance of figurative painting in our ongoing reckoning with memory, power, and belief.
Art Review by
Circle Foundation for the Arts
Will Hernandez
JFK vs Oswald
Gandhi vs Godse
April 2025
"I ALMOST GOT AWAY WITH IT," COLLECTION 2014
Crime Scene #1
Crime Scene #1
Artist: Will Hernandez, Casey Anthony and Caylee Anthony, 2014 oil on canvas, 24x36 IN. This oil painting presents a stylized portrait of Casey Anthony positioned next to a skeletal depiction of her daughter, Caylee. The composition is divided into a dark, textured void on the left featuring a red claw-like motif and a bright blue vertical band on the right containing the skeletal remains. The work serves as a controversial piece of contemporary art that reflects on the media-saturated trial and the tragic nature of the case.
Crime Scene #2
Crime Scene #1
Artist: Will Hernandez, Joran Van der Sloot and Natalee Halloway, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 24x36 IN. This oil painting presents a somber and controversial depiction of Joran van der Sloot and Natalee Holloway. The composition features a shirtless Van der Sloot in the foreground, while a small portrait of Holloway sits on the Aruban shoreline in the background, symbolizing her disappearance. The work utilizes a figurative, almost illustrative style with heavy shadows and a stark horizon line to evoke the gravity of the subject matter.
Crime Scene #3
Artist: Will Hernandez, Meredith and Amanda, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 24x36 IN.
This contemporary oil painting captures a pivotal moment of tension, referencing the widely publicized legal case involving Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox. The artist utilizes a figurative style characterized by thick, expressive brushwork and a warm, earthy color palette to depict a group of figures surrounding a central woman in distress. The composition emphasizes the overwhelming nature of the media circus and the physical proximity of the individuals involved in the narrative.
Crime Scene #4
Artist: Will Hernandex, Jody Arias Vs Travis Alexander, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 24x36 IN. This oil painting depicts a stylized, reclining figure of Jodi Arias, a figure central to a high-profile American criminal trial. She is shown wearing a dark garment, positioned over a turbulent blue sea, while clutching a small portrait of her victim, Travis Alexander. The work utilizes a bold, illustrative style with high contrast and saturated colors to explore themes of obsession and notoriety within contemporary true crime culture.
Crime Scene #5
Artist: Will Hernandez, Zimmerman and Treyvon, 2014, Oil on Canvas, 24x36 IN. This provocative painting by the contemporary Artist Will Hernandez serves as a visceral commentary on the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman. The composition features a close-up portrait of Zimmerman with a bloodied nose, directly referencing his police department photos, juxtaposed against the haunting image of Martin's body covered by a yellow tarp in the background. The artist utilizes a stark, illustrative style to emphasize the grim reality of the event and the intense social and racial tensions it ignited across the United States.
DID YOU KNOW?
The detail of the single sneaker protruding from under the yellow tarp is a direct visual reference to a widely circulated and controversial news photograph taken at the crime scene.
"I ALMOST GOT AWAY WITH IT."
GROUP EXHITIBION:
2014 Santaella Studios for the Arts- Resident Artists Winter Show Tampa FL
Discover New Art at Will Hernandez’s Art Gallery
HIPPO SWALLOWING A GALAXY, Oil on Wood Panel, mixed media
Goddess - Hero. OIL ON wood panel
ALI, oil on wood panel