The Brooklyn Rail

Enio Arroyo Gomez, a Costa Rican artist, recently had his first solo exhibition in the United States at On the Fringe Gallery in Tribeca, which was produced and curated by Enio’s largest collector and patron, Viljon Caka. This exhibition revealed Gomez’s impressive storytelling ability, influenced by his background as a scenographer and thespian. His work, which one could classify as ‘naïve art,’ employs a constellation of biographical symbols, distinguishing him from the automatist tradition. His style aligns with artists like Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, and James Ensor, but it is also informed by Costa Rican modernism and indigenous art. This blend of influences positions Gomez uniquely within the tradition of neofiguración, emphasizing the human form and allegorical depictions.

Gomez’s journey as an artist has taken him beyond Costa Rica. After studying sculpture in Argentina, he traveled to Paraguay in 2012, where he learned the importance of the “primitive line” from a Chamacoco artist. This concept, combined with his practice of drawing with his non-dominant hand, adds a childlike quality to his work, reminiscent of Paul Gauguin, Jean Dubuffet, and Rhoda Kellogg.

Like Henri Rousseau and other “instinctive painters,” Gomez’s compositions eschew proportional perfection. His works feature fantastical, mysticism-infused narratives set against crooked pastoral backdrops. In Carne val24 (2024), for example, a ghostly boy with a tongue drooping like a hungry hound hovers above a woman in a gingham dress, suggesting themes of mask-wearing and the performance of personhood.

Gomez’s work contrasts social conventions with the primordial image of man—i.e., uninhibited man acting out his instincts—a hallmark of “naïve painting.” But at its core, and what distinguishes Gomez from other painters of the genre, is that his paintings are deeply personal. This personal symbolism makes his work both intricate and open-ended, rewarding viewers who engage deeply with his art.

Early in his career, Gomez’s paintings sometimes verged on gratuitous violence, but he has since moved toward suggestion and ambiguity. His mature works, such as Compasion Y Muerte (2021) and Caballo de Troya (2023), deal with themes like colonialism without resorting to graphic depictions of bloodshed. Instead, he uses floating signifiers to guide interpretation, allowing symbols to convey meaning rather than the literal actions of his figures.

One of the most striking aspects of Gomez’s work is his use of color. His figures, often depicted in sickly yellows or dusky blues, evoke a sense of death and decay. These color choices subtend the coterie of chimeric gluttons who make up Gomez’ scenes, their biopolitical narratives inspired by his readings of philosophers like Foucault and Agamben. Gomez’s interest in biopolitics and containment is also reflected in the often partially-concealed pictorial content of his paintings (e.g., a tucked-away skeleton key, a phallus folded in a bush), where Dionysian impulses are depicted as literal accoutrements.

In works like El Refugio (2022), Gomez combines sexuality and punishment, creating scenes where figures act out fantasies amidst symbolic elements. For instance, an execution scene includes a cross-dressing policeman and a masturbating executioner, while a pistol shaped like a vibrator floats above the condemned woman’s head. These symbols betray the influence of Foucault’s genealogical historicization of public rituals and private conventions—most pointedly those pertaining to discipline, punishment, and sexual pleasure.

Not all of Gomez’s works are easily interpreted. Fronteras de Humo (2024) presents a complex allegory involving a broken-down sports car, luggage, and a bald eagle, symbolizing the United States. This painting references a personal experience in which Gomez was unable to attend an artist residency due to visa issues. The highly personal nature of his work often requires biological background knowledge to fully grasp its meaning.

Despite the occasional opacity of his symbolism, Gomez’s work is fertile ground for interpretation. His systematic approach and unique style invite viewers to engage in a puzzle-solving activity, uncovering layers of meaning within each piece. Gomez’s art, deeply rooted in personal experience and cultural influences, deserves close consideration and appreciation.