José Figueroa is an Oakland-based artist/educator born in Caracas, Venezuela. Figueroa uses postmodern strategies to create artworks that reflect on the fragility of fleeting moments, the complications of interlayered identities, and the impossibility of a single perspective. Best known for his map-like drawings that document his surroundings in playful detail, Figueroa is a keen observer of life.
A self-described “impressionist,” his travels to Paris, Cherry Grove, and around San Francisco have provided inspiration for his growing archive of queer spaces: clothing-optional beaches, heart circles, and clubs, among others. Figueroa has exhibited at Southern Exposure, Berkeley Art Museum, and Embark Gallery, all in the Bay Area; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Bogotá, Colombia; Longwood Arts Project, and Drawing Center in New York, among others. He attended Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture (2009 and 2021), received a B.F.A from the Cooper Union (2014) and an M.F.A. from U.C Berkeley (2016).
