(Images by Daniel Arzola)

Via Gay Star News: I love the work of Venezuelan artist Daniel Arzola, who left his home country in fear of his life.

His creations are simple, joyous and rainbow-bright. They also contain written messages, which is a passion of mine in art — I'm a Barbara Kruger whore, and used to include written words in my own work back when I was an artist.

He chalks up some of his success to none other than Madonna, who noticed an image from his I'm Not a Joke series and Instagrammed it. As reported by Gay Star News:

To his shock, in October 2013, Madonna saw one of the images and tweeted about it, saying ‘this art is no joke i love this @Arzola_d.’

That one Tweet changed Arzola’s life. In the course of just a few days, he received media inquiries from all over the world and dozens of requests for interviews.

However, that spotlight bought him to the attention of Venezuelan authorities. He says he began to receive threats. Mindful of his previous experiences, Arzola decided he had to leave.

‘I always say Madonna changed my life. When she shared my work on Twitter, people started asking for interviews with me. One of them was RNW (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) in Amsterdam – and they helped me get out of Venezuela and go to the Netherlands.’

I love his work. His work is love.

An influence: Keith Haring