**Mona Lisa 2001:** 2025, Oil on wood panel, 49 in x 29 in

This oil painting is a personal homage to the World Trade Center and the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It features a portrait of Gabriela, set against the emotional and historical weight of that day.

Having worked in the World Trade Center for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, this piece reflects not only a moment in history, but a lived experience. As a former war refugee from the civil war in El Salvador, themes of loss, survival, and memory are deeply embedded in the work.

This painting holds a profound place in my heart, bridging personal history with collective tragedy.

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Mona Lisa 2001

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.

Zimmerman Vs Treyvon

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.

Meredith And Amanda

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.

Joran Va Der Sloot And Natalee Halloway 

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.

Jody and Travis

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.

Casey VS Caylee 

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 HarveyOswald 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 aboutpower, 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.

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