John Paul Fauves

John Paul Fauves is a contemporary Costa Rican visual artist based in San José, known for vivid, provocative paintings that deconstruct pop-culture iconography through layering, cutting, and collaging image fragments into disorienting compositions. His work engages questions of identity as they relate to art history, mainstream culture, and social media, creating what critics have called “perversions of the familiar.”[1] Fauves studied under influential Costa Rican artist Joaquín Rodríguez del Paso before taking a hiatus to train in business, returning to exhibit internationally in 2017.[2]

His paintings draw on the imagery of modernist masters and pop artists, transforming icons such as Mickey Mouse, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Snow White into fragmented, psychologically charged compositions.[3] In addition to paintings, Fauves creates hand-painted masks and sculptures that extend his exploration of hidden identity and the duality between public personas and private selves.[4]

Fauves was born in Costa Rica and began painting at an early age under the mentorship of Joaquín Rodríguez del Paso, one of the country's most influential modern art instructors.[2] He spent approximately 15 years studying and mastering technique under del Paso before stepping away from the arts to pursue business training.[5]

The hiatus proved formative. Fauves has described how losing everything during his time in business became the catalyst for his return to painting, infusing his later work with themes of reinvention and self-discovery. He resumed exhibiting internationally in 2017, rapidly establishing a presence across galleries and art fairs in the United States, Europe, and Asia.[3]

Fauves' practice is rooted in Neo-Expressionism and Neo-Pop, synthesizing influences from modernist masters with pop-cultural imagery. His process involves layering, cutting, and collaging fragments of recognizable pop-culture icons — creating what he has described as “perversions of the familiar” that compel viewers to question what they think they know.[1]

Central to his work is the tension between innocence and corruption, fame and anonymity, the public mask and the private self. Recurring motifs include Mickey Mouse ears superimposed on classical portraiture, fragmented faces of Hollywood icons rendered in vivid, almost violent color palettes, and the deliberate disruption of nostalgic imagery.[3]

His hand-painted masks — wearable art pieces that models don during exhibitions — extend the conceptual framework of his paintings into three-dimensional, performative space. The masks embody his central preoccupation: the layers of identity we construct and the faces behind them.[4]

2017: International debut

Fauves made his international debut in 2017 with “A Loss of Innocence,” a solo exhibition at Guy Hepner Gallery in New York City, which also featured “The Mickey Me Collection.” The show included 13 paintings and 350 hand-painted masks, curated by The Tax Collection. The exhibition subsequently traveled to Meir Art Gallery in Belgium and was featured at Art Basel Miami.[2]

Also in 2017, Fauves participated in the group exhibition “FACES” at HOMME Gallery in Los Angeles and collaborated with the Popovy Sisters for an art installation at Style Fashion Week at the Pacific Design Center, LA.[8]

2018: Expansion

In 2018, Fauves expanded rapidly into international markets. He presented the solo exhibition “MI ME” at DOPENESS ART LAB in Taipei, Taiwan, and showed at w22 Galeria in San José.[5]

Group exhibitions during this period included “Down the Rabbit Hole” at Imitate Modern (London), “Papi Chulo” at Krause Gallery (New York), and “Arte de La Peer” at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel (Los Angeles). He also participated in major art fairs including Scope Basel, ARCO Madrid, Art Basel, and Art Palm Beach.[9]

2019: Hollywood Hills & Noctem Group

Fauves' 2019 season was marked by his debut West Coast solo exhibition, “Alts iz Farloyrn” (“All is Lost” in Yiddish, and Steve McQueen's first-ever line on stage), produced by Noctem Group in the Hollywood Hills on May 23, 2019. The show transformed a private mansion into an immersive gallery experience featuring 14 large-scale mixed media paintings, sculptures, and roaming models wearing Fauves' signature hand-painted masks.[6]

The one-night-only event drew over 250 guests to capacity — collectors, celebrities, influencers, producers, and real estate moguls — and closed with strong sales, establishing Fauves as a significant force in the Los Angeles art market. The exhibition was curated by JM Art Management with PR by Pierce Media & Associates.[6]

Also in 2019, Fauves presented “WE ARE ALL ENCAGED” at SCOPE Art Show in New York, and the duet exhibition “Portraits of Someone” (with Vera Kochubey) at Rhodes Contemporary Art in London. He appeared in the group show “Artists are the New Athletes” at The Edit Gallery in Limassol.[9]

Fauves works primarily in mixed media on canvas, with additional output in silkscreen prints, sculptures, and hand-painted masks. Notable works and series include:

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions and art fairs

Fauves' work has been featured in numerous international publications including Vogue Italia, Forbes Italia, Metal Magazine, Dansk Magazine, Flaunt, Hypebeast, VICE (Spanish edition), Hunger TV, KALTBLUT Magazine, WSI Magazine, The Glass Magazine, Hero Magazine, Please Magazine, Fused Magazine, and Taiwan News.[9]

His gallery representations have included Krause Gallery (New York), Guy Hepner Gallery (New York), Imitate Modern (London), Meir Gallery (Belgium), and Rhodes Contemporary Art (London).[2]

Noctem Group served as the host and production partner for Fauves' “Alts iz Farloyrn” exhibition in Hollywood Hills, managing the transformation of a private mansion into an immersive gallery experience. The team handled venue coordination, logistics, on-site execution, and guest experience for the sold-out, one-night-only event.[6]

The collaboration extended across multiple Noctem-produced activations, including Fauves' art-fashion partnerships with Limitato during New York Fashion Week, and the broader intersection of contemporary art with Noctem's entertainment and fashion event programming.[10]

1. Metal Magazine. “John Paul Fauves: Searching for the Soul.” metalmagazine.eu.
2. Flaunt Magazine. “Art: John Paul Fauves — A Loss of Innocence Exhibition Opens in New York.” flaunt.com.
3. Hunger TV. “The Artist Disrupting Our Pop Culture Dreams.” hungertv.com.
4. Forbes. Carter, Felicity. “John Paul Fauves Loses His Innocence.” forbes.com. July 10, 2017.
5. Wikipedia. “John Paul Fauves.” en.wikipedia.org.
6. PR Newswire. “Artist Watch: Celebrity Painter John Paul Fauves Stuns Hollywood Elite with a Self-Funded Mansion Takeover.” prnewswire.com.
7. KALTBLUT Magazine. Interview with John Paul Fauves. kaltblut-magazine.com.
8. PMA Media. “John Paul Fauves: LA Debut Exhibition.” pma.media.
9. Wikipedia. “John Paul Fauves — Selected exhibitions.” en.wikipedia.org.
10. Noctem Group. Internal production documentation, 2019.

• “Alts iz Farloyrn” Exhibition Film — YouTube
• John Paul Fauves Loses His Innocence — Forbes
• Searching for the Soul — Metal Magazine
• The Artist Disrupting Our Pop Culture Dreams — Hunger TV