Ivan emigrated to Michigan along with his family in 2000. He creates paintings that express the Mexican-American diaspora through folkloric symbolism. In his mural work, Ivan aims to inspire wonder and foster a sense of collective harmony, bridging the viewer with the physical space the wall inhabits He earned his Bachelor of Fine Art from the College for Creative Studies in 2017 and received the Imre J. Molnar Artistic Achievement Award, appointing him as merit-based valedictorian. He is a recipient of the 2022 Emerging Artist Fellowship supported by the Knight Foundation, and is featured in New American Paintings Midwest issue for 2023.

The hands symbolize human interaction, the geometric shapes represent ideas or motives, and the florals represent the beauty that results in this interaction. In a world quickly moving towards a technophilic culture, the use of color and paint application is intended to feel organic, human and perfectly imperfect.