In his artistic practice, Pavel Acosta Proenza delves deep into the concept of theft, a recurring theme at the core of his work since its inception. Emerging as an artist after his graduation from the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, Cuba, he found himself constrained by the lack of access to costly art materials. In response to this challenge, Pavel began to pilfer dry paint chips from the deteriorating walls of the city and various objects within his reach, employing these stolen remnants to create his signature collages on paper and canvas. These creations, aptly titled "Stolen Paintings," symbolize his quest to survive as an artist in a society where resource scarcity necessitates unconventional means of procurement, reminiscent of the black market's clandestine nature. Pavel is particularly drawn to exploring the fine line between destruction, criminality, and the act of creation. Through his work, he navigates the intricate web of ethics and morality woven into the fabric of Cuban society. 

Relocating to the United States in 2010 marked a significant turning point in Pavel's artistic journey. His exposure to the masterpieces housed in mainstream museums like MoMA and the Met, previously only known to him through books, inspired a profound reassessment of the genre of painting, its inherent characteristics, and boundaries, and his role within the art world. While his access to art materials was no longer a limitation, Pavel chose not to relinquish his penchant for theft. The skills he honed in Cuba proved to be valuable resources and powerful metaphors to confront new challenges, including the pursuit of an artist's livelihood in this foreign context.

In Pavel's more recent works, the source of his materials has shifted from the city's crumbling walls to the hallowed halls of museums. These institutions, with their walls and collections, act as ambassadors for their policies, ideologies, and bearers of collective memories and history. The ongoing series titled "Wallscape" (2013 - present) sees Pavel engaging with the permanent collection galleries of museums. In these interventions, he meticulously peels off paint from the designated walls and repurposes the paint chips to recreate the very painting that once graced the space. The initial work in this series took place at El Museo del Barrio in New York during its 2013 Biennial. Pavel's artistic explorations extend to other museums across the United States and internationally, promising similar thought-provoking interventions in the future.

Another facet of Pavel's body of work involves the meticulous reproduction of masterpiece paintings from museum collections using the same technique of utilizing acrylic wall paint on drywall or sheetrock. These artworks are presented as collages and, rather uniquely, are detached from the wall, suspended from the ceiling using a wooden structure. Each piece is accompanied by a QR code, inviting viewers to explore the original painting on the museum's webpage. In this manner, his low-tech creations can be seen as ghostly apparitions that navigate the realms of cutting-edge technology to reunite with their original counterparts. Pavel's portfolio already includes detailed copies of works by revered masters such as Vermeer, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Murillo, Audobon, Monet, Magritte, Durer, and Courbet. Notably, in 2019, he had the opportunity to exhibit one of his copies alongside its original piece, a painting by Albert Bierstadt, from the collection of the University of Wyoming Art Museum, as they commissioned the work, and it now forms a part of their collection.