Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in the Garden #48, 2024
Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in the Garden #50, 2024
ON VIEW: May 31 - July 13
Reception: 7pm - 9pm on May 31
"Encounters in the Garden," is a solo exhibition by Josias Figueirido. This is the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery and will feature paintings on canvas alongside animated models that can be experienced through augmented reality, creating an immersive and interactive experience for visitors.
"Encounters in the Garden" explores themes of friendship, community, curiosity, and the magic of discovery. The two main characters, Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote guide us through a fantastical world where autochthonous creatures, playful anthropomorphic plants, and animal-hybrids coexist in harmony. These unique beings reveal themselves only in moments of safety, and otherwise blend seamlessly into their surroundings as common plants and animals. Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote convey a profound sense of awe and curiosity as they interact with the garden’s inhabitants. The scenes shift between day and night, and are often set against vivid, colorful backgrounds, creating a timeless atmosphere where the garden's creatures are most active.
Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in the Garden #49, 2024
About the Artist:
Josias Figueirido is an artist from Spain currently based in Laredo, Texas. He earned an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Drawing School, and a BA in Fine Arts from London Metropolitan University. He has been in residence at EMAR by Collar Works, Wassaic Project, Millay Arts, Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, Vermont Studio Center, Moritz-Heyman, Dumfries House, and the Fabric Workshop and Museum in the Postgraduate Apprentice Program. His work has been in exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is the recipient of the 2019 Cindi Royce Ettinger Fellowship from Second State Press and a 2021 recipient of a Challenge America Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a collaborative project. His work is in private and public collections such as the Horseman Collection of American Art and the Francisco Fernandez del Riego Museum.
Primarily a painter, Figueirido embraces analog and digital tools within his creative process. His work shows the aesthetic impact of the screen, and it addresses topics related to friendship and community within the immigrant experience. He is a visual storyteller who uses fiction as its main genre. Figueirido says, “For me, fictional stories blend both imagination and reality and are capable of connecting people cross-culturally. As an artist, fiction gives me control over my stories. I enjoy the freedom of deciding what is possible.”