Rising Spanish artist Fátima de Juan has unveiled her latest series of paintings with frequent collaborator, L21. Housed at the gallery’s Barcelona location, Don’t Disturb Me, I’m Blooming casts visitors down a rabbit hole-themed exhibition, where surreal pop-induced humans and animals populate the largely blue and green walls of the space.
Known by her artist alias, XENA, Fátima’s spray-painted aesthetic is informed by her early days graffiting across the Balearic island of Mallorca. Female empowerment is central to her aesthetic, as the artist depicts women-warriors who are juxtaposed against ninja blades, alligators, dinosaurs and maces. In a past interview with Hypeart, Fátima told us she seeks to conflate “naivety, strength, fantasy, and sensuality with the rough, tender, and the exotic,” adding a “touch of humor while establishing a dialogue between animal and woman, like two complementary forces that feed off each other.”
For her latest exhibition, flowers and nature take on an added resonance, as the artist seeks to transport the viewer into a surreal fairytale, similar to Alice in Wonderland or Disney’s Silly Symphonies. “Fátima’s women pass on a message of serenity and self-care,” noted the gallery, “they transport us to a state of contemplation and connection with nature, recalling the importance of stopping and appreciating the natural environment within chaos.”
Don’t Disturb Me, I’m Blooming will be on view at L21 Barcelona until September 1.
In case you missed it, Hayward Gallery will showcase monumental exhibition on Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
L21 Gallery
Carrer Isaac Peral, 7,
08902 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat,
Barcelona, Spain
