“My practice is grounded in neo-essentialism: a subtractive, intentional approach that removes excess without abandoning story, emotion, or anatomy. Through my work, I construct allegorical portraits that reflect the emotional tensions of modern life.”
— Ariel Vargassal
Neo-Essentialism in Contemporary Figuration:
A Subtractive Language for Emotional and Social Metaphor
In a time when art is often saturated with detail, ideology, and sensory overload, my painting practice embraces what I call a neo-essentialist style—a subtractive method that seeks clarity through omission. Unlike the philosophical tradition of essentialism, which aims to identify intrinsic truths or immutable characteristics, my approach to essentialism is rooted in a question of necessity: what is the minimum visual language required to communicate complex emotional and narrative content? My work attempts to answer this question not through reduction for its own sake, but through a purposeful distillation of elements—stripping away visual excess while preserving psychological resonance and narrative depth.
Neo-essentialism, as I define it, is not minimalism; it is not silence, but a carefully tuned voice. It is an exploration of how deliberate subtraction can elevate meaning. Inspired equally by the functional elegance of modern architectureand the symbolic clarity of pre-Columbian art, my paintings aim to balance a stark compositional economy with a rich undercurrent of metaphor. By removing backgrounds, collapsing perspective, or paring down gesture, I work to eliminate visual "noise" while amplifying emotional tone. In doing so, I invite the viewer to inhabit a focused, distilled space—a psychological architecture—where essential forms carry layered meanings.
The human figure and the animal body are central to this exploration. These subjects become vessels for allegory, mirroring both internal states and societal dynamics. In my work, animals are not pets or predators, but rather emissaries of the subconscious—complex, watchful presences that exist in a suspended state between wildness and domesticity. Their relationships with humans are neither sentimental nor hierarchical; they are empathetic entanglements, symbolic of the uneasy but necessary coexistence between instinct and intellect, nature and culture. Drawing from Jungian archetypes and global folklore, animals often perform roles of emotional proxy—embodying fear, joy, alienation, or longing in ways that resonate beyond language.
This framework of essentialism becomes a strategy to confront and reflect on urgent contemporary themes: mental health, emotional dislocation, political asymmetries, and the tensions of late capitalism. The characters I paint—whether human or animal—are never simply portraits. They are constructed tableaux, narrative fragments that articulate both my personal experience and broader social commentaries. Through allegory and metaphor, I aim to translate private emotions into shared symbols, allowing viewers to recognize themselves within the reduced yet potent worlds I create.
Though the compositions are meticulously staged, they are not staged to deceive. They serve instead as honest scaffolding for authentic emotional content. I remain invested in traditional concerns of painting—anatomy, light, and spatial relationships—but these serve as tools rather than constraints. They are the grammar that supports a new visual syntax, one rooted in the belief that clarity is not the opposite of complexity, but its most refined form.
As a painter and social commentator, I seek to articulate a new kind of image—quiet, intentional, yet deeply charged. Neo-essentialism, then, is not only a style, but a philosophy of seeing: an ongoing experiment in how the careful act of subtraction can lead to greater emotional precision, symbolic resonance, and visual power.
Ariel Vargassal – Artist Biography
Born into a richly multicultural Mexican family, Ariel Vargassal was immersed early in a world of vibrant traditions and visual storytelling. These cultural foundations shaped a distinctive aesthetic sensibility that would become a signature element of his work. As a child, Ariel expressed his innate creativity through molding clay figures and filling notebooks with intricate drawings. This artistic inclination eventually led him to pursue formal training, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Mexico.
While studying the great masters, Ariel’s passion was ignited, and his commitment to the arts became unstoppable. Shortly after graduating, he became one of the youngest art instructors at the high school level in Mexico City—an early testament to both his talent and his dedication to inspiring others through visual language.
Ariel’s first international breakthrough came during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, where he represented Mexican visual arts in a celebrated exhibition. The success of this show opened doors across the United States, prompting his relocation to Los Angeles, where he faced the challenges of building a name in a competitive art world—navigating not only new cultural landscapes but also the barriers of language.
Through resilience and an unwavering artistic vision, Ariel began to dismantle stereotypes surrounding Latin American art, earning the trust of galleries for his powerful visual "voice" and commercial success. His work is now recognized in digital publications, books, and television programs, and he has collaborated with a number of young Hollywood figures as both subjects and collectors of his art.
His exhibitions span major cultural hubs including Mexico City, Madrid, Paris, Dubai, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York proud member of the Los Angeles Art Association, Ariel has participated in premier art fairs such as the 2015 Palm Springs International Art Fair, where one of his pieces was selected as the official poster image for the event and published nationwide.
In 2017, he was named one of the top two emerging names in North American contemporary art through SCOPE Miami’s Artisan Series, sponsored by Bombay Sapphire, during Art Basel Week. His reputation continued to rise, and in 2021, he was selected by Playboy as one of the 26 most influential artists in the world, featured in a global art compilation. That same year, he represented both the USA and Mexico in an international exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum in Tokyo, coinciding with the 2021 Olympic Games.
Ariel Vargassal’s work continues to push boundaries—blending elegance, metaphor, and narrative to invite viewers into evocative visual worlds. Through his neo-essentialist lens, he explores what is left unsaid and unseen, trusting the viewer to complete the story.
