Larry Madrigal

As the global birth rate continues to decline, one Mexican American artist is offering an explanation as to why fewer women are choosing to have babies. In Larry Madrigal's latest series, we see how changing communities and modern life might have impacted parenting forever.

Over the course of creating Work / Life, Larry Madrigal’s third solo exhibition with Nicodim, the artist and his wife conceived their second child. He watched his wife’s body change while his pretty-much stayed the same. She is a mother, he is still Larry. This body of work is the artist’s negotiation of his predetermined biological roles and his place in society, for which there is no longer a blueprint or safety net. 

The debut of Larry Madrigal’s most recent body of work at Nicodim Gallery secures him a position within a long tradition of allegorical painters that allow us to see how something unexpected can emerge just from picturing the world around us. Whether we think of Edward Hopper’s alienated figures, Eric Fischl’s images of suburban estrangement or Jenna Gribbon’s impromptu encounters, all of the above offer us a picture of more than just a moment in time. Madrigal’s work moves along similar lines but provides an entirely new twist on these ideas with the exhibition “How Dare We Now Live,” which is not a post-pandemic missive so much as a circumspect attempt to rehabilitate the genre picture within the world of contemporary art.  

Working with the genre of narrative paintings, Phoenix-based artist Larry Madrigalshows us how the quotidian can often contain moments of intrigue, complexity and beauty. Originally hailing from Los Angeles, a large part of the Mexican-American's artist's current practice was influenced by the time he was catapulted into parenthood two weeks before he started his MFA program in 2017.

Larry Madrigal (Los Angeles, Estados Unidos, 1986) descubrió su gusto por la pintura de forma insconsciente, mirando un cuadro de un río mientras visitaba a su abuela en Colima, México, cuando era pequeño. Después de un breve paso por el graffiti, estudió bellas artes y se enamoró, definitivamente, de la pintura.

The paintings of Larry Madrigal reflect our daily obligations, struggles and pleasures in a nearly absurde and comedic way. We’ve seen a lot of pictures of life like moments. His paintings however present a different point of view and a intricate care for detail that instantly rises ones attention.

"Nothing in the work is neutral. Everything is associational. As I work to build these images, there are times when I become extremely sensitive to the ‘objects’ depicted. They can become witnesses or characters in the unfolding of a story. The rhythm, proximity, and articulation of moments all work together to support an intangible feeling." – Larry Madrigal

There’s something very fresh about the way Phoenix, Arizona-based Mexican-American artist Larry Madrigal elevates that which is commonplace. He freezes onto the canvas not mere objects but little narratives, a style that renders his work particularly delightful.

"I really enjoyed a trio of small works on paper by L.A. painter Devin B. Johnson, featuring a moody trio of Black figures with inscrutable gazes, made up of deftly applied swathes and splatters of paint."

In his oil paintings of family, friends and self, Madrigal combines technical flair with a deep humanity. With his carefully observed and rendered details–tactile skin, emphatic gazes and casual gestures–his work hints at complex lives. “Being able to capture my subjects on the canvas is very special to me,” says the painter. “And there’s so much to learn.”