Meet Juan José Cielo | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Juan José Cielo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Juan José, what are you inspired by?
I remember an artist told us, in our work- we only arrive at a handful of interesting questions if we’re lucky. That if they’re the right ones, they’ll fuel your art practice for your life. The longer you stay with them, the more interesting places they’ll take you as you make new artworks.

I’ve been obsessed with questions about outer space, and the exercise of imagining the future my entire life. I’ve come to understand it’s because in science-fiction, people suspend disbelief. It’s a type of believable magic that people can invest themselves in. Someone could say, “okay that flying machine might not exist today, but someday it might”. What other types of mythology do people do that with?

In my paintings, outer space is the stage for scenes and stories of people living and experiencing these types of magic. We’re only at the beginning of this. Imagine the centuries and centuries of people sailing the oceans and all of the histories that played out. Well, we’re essentially at the beginning of that history but in space. We’ve been going for 70 years. Imagine all the things that will come and their implications: extensive tourism, cities, changes to earths economy, wars, revolutions, asteroid mining, permanent settlements.

Outer space exploration is a fountain of inspiration for me because at its essence, its people wanting a transcendental experience in nature. It’s the same impulse to want to go visit natural landmarks like the grand canyon. It’s just that in space, you need the language of mythology to understand the scale of things you can experience. Zero-gravity for example is that ancient dream of flying except its really possible.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I create simulations in painting, photography and short films where futuristic technology is a force to experience the sublime with. Through my work I create space where Latino myth and folklore are part of the visions of a futuristic world. This is an extension of my dual-cultural background because through the work I combine American dreams with Colombian heritage.

I was born in Medellin, Colombia, grew up in Miami and went to New World School of the arts for high school, and now live in New York. I came to New York originally to attend The Cooper Union for visual arts. I’ve participated in arts residencies at Fountainhead (2023), with Piero Atchugarry Gallery in Uruguay(2023), and at a mars simulation program called The Mars Desert Research Station in Utah (2017).

Imagining the future is a strategy to question our reality. It expands on the thinking that people familiar with migration engage in- to imagine possible lives and alternate destinies. The paintings present these changes on a scale of time that extends beyond one family’s life.

In Miami, I grew up in a primarily Spanish-speaking home and was always engaged in translating not only language but entire cultural concepts for my family. Switching minds also allowed me to see both cultures from within and from outside and this informs how I make artwork.

My work is inspired from experiences of diaspora communities like how identity is maintained in a new place, and how this changes over generations. Individuals who have migrated embrace elements in their lives that over time can change their identity. These transformations can include changes in language, worldview and how we relate to our heritages over time. In the paintings, futuristic vehicles, the designs of these vehicles and their placement in rural landscapes are symbols for these internal changes.

In the piece “Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán (I am not a sailor, I am the captain)” (2022), the scene is in Colombia and this hovering ship is inspired by the designs of traditional “Chiva” buses. This ship is a hybrid of identities. It appears to be Colombian, but there is something different about it- just like people who are children of immigrants that return to their family’s place of origin. We return as a combination of identities.

Another work inspired by growing up in Miami is “Restaurante Espacial (Colombian restaurant in space)” (2019), Inspired by how Colombian restaurants in the U.S. function as cultural embassies and meeting points for immigrant communities. The construction of a place like this would be in a time where space travel is accessible for everyone. These restaurants for immigrant communities in the U.S. are as critical as a space station is for an astronaut in a void because they serve as places of relief and reconnection.

I am inspired to make work imagining the future because its a strategy to question our reality and a way to explore the complexities of Latinx experiences in the United States.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I tell everyone to visit the Colombian Restaurant/venue “Pueblito Viejo” in Kendall in Miami. It’s like a Colombian version of the planet Hollywood restaurants except even more excessive. And in that sense its very appropriate to be such a gem for immigrant diasporas. It’s a beautiful place that is almost like a fantasy. It’s only open in the evenings, has live musicians, a dance floor, the wall to ceilings are covered in decorations, mannequins, and memorabilia. It is like a condensed version of all of the energy, joy and a bit of the melancholy of immigrant community. It’s the inspiration behind the Colombian restaurant in space painting I made.

The 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant by the Miami International airport, it sits outside near the airport runways so you can watch the airplanes take off and last I was there they have telephones on the wall so you can hear the air traffic control tower live.

The Hard Rock Guitar Hotel, it’s a towering glass building in the shape of a guitar. It is a monumental thing to see from the highway. At night it beams lasers into the clouds representing the guitar strings. The façade of the building turns into screens for a light show every night. It’s a corny and remarkable spectacle. One time, in an airplane I looked out the window and saw I was flying past a row of vertical laser lights outside my window. I looked down and realized it’s the guitar hotel and was amazed.

I live in New York, but grew up in Miami. Whenever we hosted someone visiting Miami, I am always excited to show them the view from the MacArthur Causeway. I think this is one of the roads that makes Miami iconic. It’s an unbelievably beautiful sight to see the rows of massive cruise ships parked like skyscrapers back-to-back as you drive along the road. If possible, to pull over on Watson Island (the one where Parrot Jungle Island park is) just to stop and look.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
All of my teachers and mentors in Miami and from New World School of the arts, especially Donald Lambert, Carlos Gallostra, Margie Campmany, Tracy Ellen (first visual arts teacher ever), Cheryl Goodman, Laurie Russell, and at The Cooper Union in New York including Ben Degen, Yuri Masnyj, James Leary, Doug Ashford, Day Gleeson, William Villalongo, Tomashi Jackson, Mike Essl, Walid Raad, Leslie Hewitt, and Brandon Coley Cox.

I hope to one day be a mentor as impactful as these wonderful people have been in my life. I would not be as fortunate to have had the experiences and opportunities with the support of them.

My family for their support my brother Antonio, and parents Ana Isabel and Saulo Garcia.

Website: www.juanjosecielo.com

Instagram: @juanjosecielo1

Image Credits
Photograph of the artist in studio is by Jack Ramsdell. Otherwise all photographs courtesy of Juan José Cielo.