JESUS AGUADO

LIFE MILESTONES

mini feature

May 24th - June 15th, 2025

Opening Reception: First Friday, June 6th, 2025 ​

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I don’t know about you, but we don’t immediately think of an octopus stump gardening with lobster claws when we think of our family tree. Nor do we imagine cells being split by a winged caterpillar Mother holding a hammer during mitosis. Nonetheless, these are the images Jesús Aguado presents in LIFE MILESTONES, the artist’s newest series of paintings that ‘document’ the important stages of life with absolute absurdity. 

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Jesús writes, “I have a two-year-old son. Since he was born, I’ve been thinking a lot about life, about the crucial moments in a person’s development, both on a personal and general level, as well as a metaphysical one. 

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“Experiencing life through your child again makes you think and reconsider everything you’ve been through in life. In the mysteries of creation, in a group of friends who changed your life. In that teacher who changed your course or that book or piece of knowledge that became embedded in the deepest part of your being. I’d never thought about how important certain events in my past were, so all of these paintings are metaphorical—and funny. But they represent life’s ‘milestones.’”

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Despite the personal and symbolic narrative underlying this series, Aguado’s work always incites free play of our imaginations. The forms he depicts almost neutralize any attempt at rational control…which sounds like life with a two-year-old. His free association of ideas—not totally arbitrary but not totally connected—nods to the history of surrealism in art and writing. Automatism, spiritualism, and absurdity all feel deeply held within Jesús’ work; their perceived randomness sparks humor that is glorious and rare. Not to mention, the artist’s technique of acrylic glazing—building forms through impossibly thin layers of undulating paint—creates a glistening, dream-like quality that is otherworldly and insane. 

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Jesús Aguado (b. 1976) is based in Valladolid, Spain. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Salamanca and graduated with a degree in graphic design. After building an impressive career as an illustrator, he began painting using traditional methods in 2017 and has since exhibited widely around the world. Aguado began showing with Arch Enemy Arts in 2020, and LIFE MILESTONES is his third solo feature with the gallery. 

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LIFE MILESTONES will be on view from May 24th - June 15th, 2025
Sold works will begin to ship the week starting June 22nd, unless other rush shipping arrangements have been made. 

Items marked with a red dot have already been sold.

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