Apitatán, also known as Juan Sebastián Aguirre (Quito – Ecuador, 1987) is a visual creator who seeks to reflect
the identity of the Latin-American collective memory. The artist focusses on personifying the most significant aspects of the past, reconfiguring the contemporary inherited model, with a personal touch which brings essence, authenticity, and uniqueness.
Amongst his sketches he collects anecdotes, clippings of his memories, and conversations overheard as he walks through life.
The scenes he interprets in his paintings mirror a critical view of culture in Quito, Ecuador and Latin America in conjunction to sharp geometric features he finds in the mixture of cultures across the continent.
Antiheroes, deities, ancestral warriors, popular characters, legendary shamans, mythical animals, and everyday beings: they all inhabit the artist’s parallel universe. They come alive to transmit their memory, fortitude, wisdom, and humor to defy stereotypical aesthetics. They confirm that true value lies in diversity and imperfection.
Their presence transforms forgotten urban spaces into mirrors that remind passersby of where we come from, questioning who we are. Sometimes they teach us to laugh at ourselves allowing us to get to know who we are on a deeper level.
Apitatán leaves color trails wherever he goes, narrating his experiences and personal visions through murals that he has painted in several corners of Latin America, USA and Europe. Their purpose is to claim the significance
of latin roots and to pay tribute to the greatness of simplicity.
Apitatán, also known as Juan Sebastián Aguirre (Quito – Ecuador, 1987) is a visual creator who seeks to reflect
the identity of the Latin-American collective memory. The artist focusses on personifying the most significant aspects of the past, reconfiguring the contemporary inherited model, with a personal touch which brings essence, authenticity, and uniqueness.
Amongst his sketches he collects anecdotes, clippings of his memories, and conversations overheard as
he walks through life. The scenes
he interprets in his paintings mirror a critical view of culture in Quito, Ecuador and Latin America in conjunction to sharp geometric features he finds in the mixture of cultures across the continent.
Antiheroes, deities, ancestral warriors, popular characters, legendary shamans, mythical animals, and everyday beings:
they all inhabit the artist’s parallel universe. They come alive to transmit their memory, fortitude, wisdom, and humor to defy stereotypical aesthetics. They confirm that true value lies in diversity and imperfection.
Their presence transforms forgotten urban spaces into mirrors that remind passersby of where we come from, questioning who we are. Sometimes they teach us to laugh at ourselves allowing us to get to know who we are on a deeper level.
Apitatán leaves color trails wherever he goes, narrating his experiences and personal visions through murals that he has painted in several corners of Latin America, USA and Europe. Their purpose is to claim the significance
of latin roots and to pay tribute to the greatness of simplicity.
Apitatán, also known as Juan Sebastián Aguirre (Quito – Ecuador, 1987) is a visual creator who seeks to reflect
the identity of the Latin-American collective memory. The artist focusses on personifying the most significant aspects of the past, reconfiguring the contemporary inherited model, with a personal touch which brings essence, authenticity, and uniqueness.
Amongst his sketches he collects anecdotes, clippings of his memories, and conversations overheard as he walks through life.
The scenes he interprets in his paintings mirror a critical view of culture in Quito, Ecuador and Latin America in conjunction to sharp geometric features he finds in the mixture of cultures across the continent.
Antiheroes, deities, ancestral warriors, popular characters, legendary shamans, mythical animals, and everyday beings: they all inhabit the artist’s parallel universe. They come alive to transmit their memory, fortitude, wisdom, and humor to defy stereotypical aesthetics. They confirm that true value lies in diversity and imperfection.
Their presence transforms forgotten urban spaces into mirrors that remind passersby of where we come from, questioning who we are. Sometimes they teach us to laugh at ourselves allowing us to get to know who we are on a deeper level.
Apitatán leaves color trails wherever he goes, narrating his experiences and personal visions through murals that he has painted in several corners of Latin America, USA and Europe. Their purpose is to claim the significance
of latin roots and to pay tribute to the greatness of simplicity.