José Lara Menéndez

As a figurative artist working across painting, drawing, and digital mediums, my practice delves into alienation, time, and my perception of reality through dreamlike narratives in liminal spaces. I construct eerie atmospheres using unnatural lighting and ambiguous figures that merge fictional characters with self-portraiture. Incorporating socio-cultural references and domestic elements, my work creates visual tensions that reflect environmental and social constraints under capitalism. Through contrasting expressions and layered compositions, I investigate the dissonance of time, productivity culture, and “hurry sickness,” shaped by my trans, autistic, and mixed Central American identities. Influenced by José Esteban Muñoz’s "queer time" and Jack Halberstam’s "queer failure," my fantastical approach challenges colonial views on gender and self-worth. By carving out space for alternative ways of being, my work offers self-affirmation and invites shared reflection on the alienation and resilience that define the human experience.

José Lara Menéndez is a visual figurative artist who holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Concordia University (2022). The artist creates surrealist dreamlike scenes featuring cartoon figures navigating otherworldly fantastical landscapes. In 2022, Menéndez was awarded a Research and Creation grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to investigate animation and projection mapping, and participated in the Art Volt mentorship program, both pushing the boundaries of their artistic practice. Menéndez has exhibited their work across Montreal and Canada, and in 2024, was included in the Art Volt Collection.

IG @tu_patojo