Kiara will be present 1:30-5pm Luna Anaïs Gallery, in partnership with LAUNCH LA is pleased to present Refugio en las Flores, an exhibition of recent works by Kiara Aileen Machado. In compositions dense with greenery, camouflaged figures, and references to traditional artesanía from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, Machado explores the vastness and complexity of Latinx identity. Underneath the sense of calm, beauty, and refuge, the artist confronts a history of colonization, classism, cultural hegemony, and the erasure of Central American identities in the post-colonial Americas. She considers the femme body, agency and personal autonomy, and the restorative strength that is found in the sanctuary of community and ancestral wisdom. Machado’s latest body of work establishes a dialogue between autobiography and a shared struggle for justice. She uses abstraction and camouflage, embedding figures within thickets of vibrantly-colored flora, with references to traditional Central American handcrafts throughout the compositions. These are woven textiles, nets, and hand-carved woodworks. These are muñecas quitapenas, the handmade figurines originating from the Mayan people of Guatemala. The presence of these objects illuminates a tradition of artmaking that represents Machado’s own early beginnings as an artist, honoring her connection to this lineage of artistry, making, and visual culture. Though hidden or abstracted within these botanical veils, Machado’s figures are not in hiding - they are images not of escape but of shelter and sanctuary. The compositions are immersive and multilayered, refocusing the idea of refuge to the powerful act of manifesting new space in an unjust world. Machado’s depictions of lush greenery and the colors of Guatemala and El Salvador all speak to her connection to these lands, the memories and customs shared through generations, and the constant struggle to upend the xenophobia, racism, and violence that have been wrought upon those born within systems of oppression.