María Fragoso Jara (b. 1995, Mexico) is an artist whose practice centers on a deep exploration of the human need for intimacy and connection. Through figurative painting and drawing, she examines the subtle gestures, bodily performances, and sensory signals that shape how people relate to one another. In compositions where the surreal and the intimate converge, Fragoso captures textures and sensations—the tenderness of a soft touch, the humid burst of a mouth spouting saliva like a fountain, the delicate press of a tongue, the dense smell of stagnant air, the sweet taste of ripe fruit—to construct scenes that evoke both vulnerability and the charged presence of desire. Her work forms a visual universe in which feminine figures become carriers of a heightened sensitivity, reframing how we inhabit our bodies and how we exchange affection.
Her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions across the United States, Mexico, as well as in international venues spanning Italy, Brussels, and China; including Volver en una pieza, PEANA, CDMX; soul breaker, Company Gallery, NYC; Bodas de sangre, 1969 Gallery, NYC; Viscous, Cassina Projects, MIL; I’m Stepping High, I’m Drifting, and There I Go Leaping, Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, RIZ; El jardín entre tus dientes,1969 Gallery, NYC, among others. Fragoso received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore.