Juan Miguel García—writer, painter, art lover—is the new host of “Meet Our Local Art Heroes from the Morley Arts District which airs each month on “We Love Nogales.” The new interview series highlights artists involved in the Morley Arts District who are having a big impact in developing a creative economy and vibrant culture in downtown, Nogales.
Juan Miguel was born on January 23, 1992 in Tucson, Arizona. He grew up in Guadalajara Mexico and at the age of 9, returned to Nogales, Arizona. The place he now calls home.
Although Juan Miguel always showed an interest in the arts, he never had a formal artistic education. Even so, Juan Miguel defines himself as an artist by the fact that he has the need to create. Regardless of your level of technical skill.
At the age of 15, a teacher gave Juan Miguel a drawing pad and several charcoal pencils. Which, Juan Miguel filled with sketches, doodles, and drawings of roses with exposed roots, hearts, and musical notes. Elements that appear in his works to this day.
It was not until 2020, during the pandemic, that Juan Miguel began painting with oils, his favorite medium, and never stopped. Inspired by artists Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, and Roberta Lobeira, Juan Miguel decides to concentrate on painting friends, family, and his own likeness in a surrealist style.
Juan Miguel’s work can be defined as magical realism. The use of bright colors, fantasy elements, subconscious phenomena and wild dream adventures that break the fine line between the real and the unreal, replacing one with the other.
His inspiration comes from cinema, music, literature, and life itself. Each painting, full of symbolism, private jokes and the emotional charge that the artist felt when taking his brush to the canvas.
In addition to hosting MAD’s “Meet Our Local Art Heroes,” Juan Miguel is also the host of “La Linea Podcast.” Both shows seek to not only highlight and showcase local talents, but also provide artists with a platform where they get to talk about their inspiration, process and techniques.
