Federico Airaudo is an Ecuadorian artist currently based in Calgary, Canada. Described as a Latin American ‘Where’s Waldo’, his ultra-bright paintings are brimming with human-animal characters and satirical playfulness, confronting the viewer with a multiplicity of storylines. Federico’s jam-packed scenes and winding narratives require an ongoing and iterative viewing, tasking viewers with the visual labor of following a busy constellation of intersecting characters. Through these characterizations, Federico enlivens the distinct cultural mannerisms of Ecuador as they play out in manifold and often contrary visual scenarios.
In a moment of shrinking biodiversity, Federico’s paintings presence the layers of animality in Ecuador as more than a backdrop for human activity. His work experiments at the intersection of this animality and the urban commercialization that shapes the aesthetic essence of Ecuador’s industrial cities, its ironies and contradictions. Significant to Federico’s work is an insistence to look beyond the individual acting in isolation, bringing place-specific details into view within a broader social and cultural context.
FEDERICO AIRAUDO 