Jairo Argueta may be considered a millennial artist, but his artistry surpasses the depth of generations. A self-taught artist, he was born in Morazan Yoro, Honduras, a small town which greatly shaped his early childhood.
While Jairo has encountered many artistic influences in his 25 years of life, he attributes his early artistic inspiration to a local Honduran resident by the name of Marvin Caseres; a young, gay, artist struggling to establish himself. While Marvin would help shape his early years, he credits philosopher Allen Watts as an influence in his current work. It helped clear some of his observations about the way people function post trauma. His artwork tells the psychological struggles the viewer will stumble themselves and those around.
In 2013, his junior year of high school, Jairo won 1st place in the “Calyx Schenecker Art Infinitum” exhibit. Following the success of this award, his piece ‘Little Things’ was featured at The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. 2014 also proved to be quite eventful! Jairo received an award of merit for another exhibit at the Dali Museum – ‘Change is Strange’. He would go on to win an additional “Calyx Schenecker” award, followed by the exhibition of his piece ‘Sto Ancora Imparando’ at the University of Tampa.
In March of 2014, his water-color painting entitled ‘Nature is my Companion’ was exhibited at Tampa Museum of Art in downtown Tampa, FL. For this work, Jairo was awarded the Congressional Choice Award winner of US Representative Kathy Castor’s Congressional Art Contest.
Jairo’s most recent and complex collection titled ‘NECIO’, is a composition of oil-paint on canvas. Necio, or stubbornness, is a general theme of the collection which conveys our reluctance to tame our desires. He hopes to “convey a story about the simplicity of our nature that often becomes problematic or complex by our very own tendencies to think critically. This translates into passion, love, betrayal and jealousy of one another. And from here, we give ourselves meaning (purpose?) which in turn flourishes into the very thing that we call life”.
His work has been described as a fusion of surrealism, expressionism, and touch of Claude Monet. His ability to use monochromatic color themes with a blend of impressionist surrealism in his subjects and nature will keep you enthralled. You will find yourself longing for people you’ve never met, a remote place you’ve yet to travel or sensations you’ve never felt.
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