José Nuñez
b. 1945, El Salvador ∙ CE artist since 1996
Photo by Peter Prato
José Nuñez uses a simple, assured stroke to delineate the shapes of his subjects, which he often repeats or elongates to fill the picture plane, giving his work a complex graphic arrangement. The flora and fauna of his beloved El Salvador occupy a large portion of his attention, his work often depicting memories from time spent alone in the countryside taking care of his family's cows. Out of those memories also come artistic investigations of mythological subjects like cadejo, a shadow dog that hunts at night and used to terrify him.
Nuñez sometimes collaborates with Miriam Munguia, drawing plants and figures on textiles, which she then embroiders. Nuñez joined the Creativity Explored studio shortly after moving to California in 1996 and has found a rich community of friends and fans in San Francisco and beyond. In 2011, CB2 chose Nuñez's work to adorn a complete set of bedding.
Select Exhibitions & Projects
2020
Of Here From There | De Aquí Desde Allá, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
Art Changes Lives at Parc 55, San Francisco, CA
Mother Nature! at Outsider Art Fair 2020, New York, NY
2019
Neighbors: Art from Next Door, Black & Blue Tattoo, San Francisco, CA
2018
Fabulate!, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
"From" All Over the Place, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, San Francisco, CA
Quintessentially José Nuñez, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2017
Exposed, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Black White, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
E FOR EVERYONE, San Francisco Peephole Cinema, San Francisco, CA
Black White, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2016
Celebrating a Vision: Art and Disability, SFO Museum , San Francisco Airport Terminal 3 Departures - Level 2 - Post-Security
Bird in the Hand, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
2015
Here, There and Everywhere, Sheffer Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Forte, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
A Beautiful Place to Be, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2014
Elemental Renditions, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2013
Outside In: The Art of Inclusion, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland
For the Birds, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco's Calacas: Day of the Dead, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2011
I have never really taken the time to look, Accident and Artifact, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
CE at Ambach & Rice, Ambach & Rice, Los Angeles, CA
2010
Palomas Plantas y Figuras, Brett McDowell, Dunedin, New Zealand
4 Real 4 Faux Animating the Vernacular, Truman State University Art Gallery, Kirksville, MO
2009
Where Are We? Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2008
Repetition, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2007
Shadowshine, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2006
Sacred Places, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Vessels, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2004
Radiant Spaces: Private Domain, Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Gesture, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Functionable, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Critters, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2003
Dialogue Project, Funabashi Cure Gallery, Funabashi, Japan
Japanese Rock n Roll, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
LIT: Lamps, Lanterns, and Shadow, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
