Description
Introducing “Subjeción” by the Costa Rican artist Adrián Arguedas captures the luminosity and texture of bright yellow giraffe balloons as they take up the breadth of the canvas. The composition, balanced and deliberate, draws the viewer’s gaze towards the central figure. Through subtle brushwork and nuanced colour choices, Arguedas creates a sense of whimsy and playfulness, sparking interpretation and engagement.
This piece exemplifies Arguedas’s skill in capturing moments of everyday life with sensitivity and depth, as well as his affinity for recontextualising commonplace imagery in unexpected scenarios. Growing up in Barva de Heredia near San José, Arguedas has always been influenced by the town’s famous mask parades.
Even when Arguedas is not painting literal masks, he captures the way individuals project their identities, affirming that even “your face is a mask”. His figurative work, such as this painting, embraces the spirit of masquerade even if masks are not depicted as he explores the various guises people adopt. Always referencing popular culture, his work presents masks as archetypes, encouraging us to scrutinise our own multifaceted human experience.
Arguedas is a Costa Rican artist whose work offers a unique perspective on Costa Rica’s culture and, as a professor at the University of Costa Rica, he paves the way for other Costa Rican artists to explore their own unique perspectives.
Shipping: This artwork will be rolled for shipment.
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