Maybe flamboyant cowboys are the key to making flamboyant paintings? It must be for Ana Segovia.
https://www.harpersbazaar.mx/entretenimiento/women-in-art-ana-segovia
Segovia, who identifies on Instagram as him/her, explores themes of masculinity and its stereotypes. Specifically, after interest in the way the media has showcased cowboys, the artist decided to take matters into her own hand and depict the romanticization of these stereotypes through a queer perspective.
After getting a bachelors in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Segovia immediately moved on to doing exhibitions in Mexico City, her hometown.
Paisajes (2022) performance.
https://artviewer.org/ana-segovia-at-monti8/
Segovia’s main source of inspiration were figurative painters such as David Hockney and Dana Schutz, who are known to incorporate bright vivid colors in their own works. We can see how her works resemble theirs through the use of color and abstraction.
Segovia also references Western and Mexican films. She uses them as a base to build upon the themes of gender and national identity in her work. She is able to analyze the masculinity present in films, sports, and other forms of media and use it to renounce those stereotypes.
Golden Age of Mexican cinema
https://culturacolectiva.com/en/entertainment/movies/best-movies-golden-age-mexican-cinema-ranking/
As mentioned, Segovia’s paintings use strong color and capture humorous scenes that are actually supposed to contrast the serious, political tone. Overall, her work allows the viewers to question mundane things and view them from a fresh perspective.
Sometimes tropes and stereotypes are just meant to be challenged, and Ana Segovia pulls it off perfectly.