A grayscale close up photo of artist Josué Guarionex. He wears glasses and smiles lightly at the camera.

Josué Guarionex

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​I utilize art as a tool to awaken the collective mindset to the disparate situations brought about by the differences between social classes.  Mostly drawn to wood, I highlight its misuse, facing the worldwide ecological problem using objects and tools in my work, seizing its design and purpose, and reclaiming a change of direction for our society. I source most of my materials on the street, an act I utilize to highlight the excess and consumerism that surrounds us.  I intend to create a space for dialogue and awareness, of concern for the future of wildlife and mankind..

A self-taught sculptor, Josué Guarionex, took his first steps as an art maker alongside his family; his mother is a fashion designer, and his father was a woodworker and luthier. In 1996 assisted photographer Jack Delano. In 2000 moved to New York City, and he became an active member of the Puerto Rican artistic community in El Barrio/Spanish Harlem. In 2003, returned to Puerto Rico and established his furniture design studio Guarionex Design. In 2011 he moved to NY, where he has collaborated with different cultural institutions and works as a manufacturer for renowned museums and art galleries.

"Sculpture, hand carved wood, plywood, part of a rocking chair, found object and welding wire. I collect objects and parts of furniture from the streets between my house and studio. Then I begin to design the work guided by the shapes of these objects. From series: Amuletos" - Josué Guarionex
Josué Guarionex. Vejigante, 2023. Sculpture, 36 X 36 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.
Geometric shapes cut to make a fence-type sculpture. The shapes mimic percussion instruments, meant to play by hand.
Josué Guarionex. Crosscut, 2020. Aluminum, 5 feet X 63 feet. Image courtesy of the artist.
Detail of "CROSSCUT." Geometric shapes cut to make a fence-type sculpture. The shapes mimic percussion instruments, meant to play by hand.
Josué Guarionex. Crosscut, 2020. Aluminum, 5 feet X 63 feet. Image courtesy of the artist.
Drawing of a woman wearing a straw hat that covers her face. She is nude and her arms turn into strands of tires that fall out of the canvas onto the floor.
Josué Guarionex. Pachamama, 2019. Charcoal and acrylic on canvas, 48 X 60 X 72 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.