As a figurative artist, José Lara Menéndez’s practice delves into themes of identity, gender, alienation, and my perception of time, often exploring these ideas through dreamlike narratives in liminal spaces to evoke a sense of eeriness. He builds lighting in his compositions in unnatural ways to suggest being in a paranormal state and an alternate reality. The figures in his work are a mix of and an in-between of fictional characters and self-portraiture as a way to layer different narratives and internal dialogues.
By combining socio-cultural references and domestic elements into these compositions, he shapes visual juxtapositions that summon a mesh of tension. All these elements converge to reflect the environmental and social constraints he navigates under capitalism. His work attempts to grapple with the dissonance of time, the relentless pace of productivity culture, and the “hurry sickness” that distorts our sense of worth and presence. This urgency often clashes with how he moves through the world as a trans, autistic person of Guatemalan and Salvadoran roots. It deepens a sense of alienation and motivates a desire to imagine otherwise.
Lara Menéndez captures these conflicts through contrasting and ambiguous expressions on his figures' faces. Creating these figures is a form of self-affirmation, a carving out of space to exist and think differently, even in adversity. Drawing from his interests in queer theory, particularly Jack Halberstam’s writing on "queer failure" and “queer time”, his artistic drive aims to challenge colonial perspectives on gender and self-worth. Through the otherworldly, he strives to find a shared humanity in these experiences of alienation to connect with viewers on a deeper level.
José Lara Menéndez is a visual figurative artist who holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Concordia University (2022) and is now continuing their studies as an MFA candidate there. The artist creates surrealist dreamlike scenes featuring cartoon figures navigating otherworldly spaces. Menéndez is the recipient of the SSHRC Master’s program scholarship (2025), the Dale and Nick Tedeschi Studio Scholarship (2024), the Tom Hopkins Memorial Graduate Scholarship (2024), and the Research and Creation grant from the Canada Council for the Arts (2022). Menéndez has exhibited their work across Montreal and Canada, and in 2024, joined the Art Volt Collection.
