María Fragoso’s work depict voyeuristic scenes where the subjects seem to be caught in acts that feel both seductive and mischievous. These otherworldly glimpses question our logic of reality to offer a twisted look into notions of gender, queer identity, human relations. Drawing upon the rich history of Mexican Surrealists and muralists, Fragoso’s work carves out a place for itself as a contemporary counterpart to these artists through her use of color and symbolist language. Reds that resemble blood, human fluids like saliva, snail secretions, motives of water like fishes and shells, onions and pomegranates recalling a layered interiority and fertility, appear as offerings of devotion and affection. These set of recurring symbols explore her own cycle of life, from birth to death through love, sex, desires and fears.
María Fragoso Jara (b. 1995, Mexico City, Mexico) lives and works in New York. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College Art (MICA) in Baltimore. Her residences include Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Yale Norfolk School of Art, Vermont Studio Center Fellowship and Palazzo Monti in Brescia, Italy. Fragoso is represented by 1969 Gallery, New York, where she had her solo exhibition El jardín entre tus dientes in 2021. Her work has been exhibited at the Taubman Museum of Art, Virginia; Cassina Projects, Milan; Half Gallery, New York; Everyday Gallery, Antwerp; Human Resources, Los Angeles. Recent art fairs include Untitled Art Fair Miami Beach 2021 and The Artsy Vanguard, Miami Beach, 2021.