Description
From Jesus Mejia’s “Dreamland” series.
Mejia is a prominent figure in Costa Rican contemporary art, known for his exploration of social issues through his bold figurative paintings. His practice, influenced by Baroque tenebrism and Catholic symbolism, focuses on themes of faith, humanity and personal history.
In this Dreamland series, Mejia presents a luminous shift into the subconscious, trading realism for sensory and symbolic landscapes shaped by dreams, childhood memory, and emotional release.
In this REM painting “REM #2”, Mejia returns to the figure, placing a young woman front and centre under sharply contrasted lighting. Her gaze meets the viewer’s directly, but the context remains obscured as her body us wrapped in folds of cloth that shimmer with reflected colour and points of light. The title, referencing the rapid eye movement stage of sleep, signals an interest in the threshold between consciousness and dream. While the formal qualities, such as chiaroscuro, realism and saturated hues, are consistent with the rest of Mejia’s Dreamland series, the psychological charge is heightened. This REM painting suggests a moment of awareness inside a state defined by unknowing.
Shipping: This artwork will be rolled for shipment.
