Radamés 'Juni' Figueroa's Tropical Readymades Bridge Caribbean Context to New York Exhibitions

Radamés 'Juni' Figueroa develops an artistic language rooted in Caribbean tropical contexts, focusing on leisure and creation beyond capitalist exploitation. His concept of the 'tropical readymade' manifests in installations like used trainers with growing plants, spray-painted plastic pipe rainbows, and fountains flowing with whisky and coconut water. Large-scale works include Eucalyptus Triangle for Meditation (2013), a wooden walkway/bench platform at the 43rd Salón (inter) Nacional de Artistas in Medellín, offering views of Arecaceae palms and a camouflage mural using rainbow eucalyptus colors. Another project, Casa Club – Tree House of Naguabo (2013), was built with found materials in Naguabo's eucalyptus forest during a Beta-Local fellowship, serving as an experimental platform for barbecues, concerts, and social gatherings. Figueroa will present work at the Sculpture Center in Long Island City and create an outdoor intervention for the 2014 Whitney Biennial, bringing his tropical aesthetic to New York audiences. His practice references cultural elements like Ismael Rivera's 1975 song Seis de Borinquen, embedding sensory experiences of beach, coconut, and drums into his artistic investigations.