Colombian by birth, Dairo Vargas is a visual artist who lives and works in London, England.
Vargas’ work addresses feelings and memories, questioning the sense of self through the narrative of our lives.
Using gestural free association, his signature style of abstraction blended with realism aims to capture the thinking process and encourage introspection. Each image brings forward very personal subconscious memories and emotions.
The paintings - much like memory itself-are built with layers and the brushstrokes allow one to rebuild, reconstruct, distort and add information as we recall.
‘ If our memories give us a sense of moving through time, which of them truly define who we are—and what it means to be alive?’ - Dairo Vargas
Community engagement and mental health support work is a key component for Vargas artistic practice.
He has established a worldwide network using art as a tool for exploring the causes of trauma.
Education
2008 HNC Fine Art, Kensington and Chelsea College
2014 Metal and Sculpture Summer Course Central Saint Martins
2004 BA Graphic Design, Unitec University, Bogota, Colombia
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Maddox Gallery, London, UK
2023 Maddox Gallery, London, UK
Canali, London, UK
2022 Signet Gallery, London, UK
2021 Signet Gallery, London, UK
2018 In Spaces, London, UK
Barclays Bank, London, UK
2017 Ambassadeur Gallery, Bournemouth, UK
2016 Mindcollision Coya, London, UK
Group Exhibitions
2023 Maddox Gallery, London, UK
Eclectic Gallery, London, UK
2022 The Royal Academy of Art, Summer Exhibition, London, UK
Signet Gallery, London, UK
The Light Box Gallery, Surrey, UK
Eclectic Gallery, London, UK
2020 Dogtooth Fine Art Gallery, Cheshire, UK
The Royal Academy of Art, Summer Exhibition, London, UK
Via Art Prize, London, UK
2019 Consciousness, Community project, Museum del Marletto, Italy
Black Water Gallery, Cardiff, London, UK
Moniker Art Fair, London, UK
Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong
2018 M1 Fine Art Gallery, London, UK
Kensington and Chelsea college, London, UK
Affordable Art Fair, London, UK
LA Modern + Contemporary, USA
2017 David Bowie Tribute, Monica Colussi (motor village, London, UK)
The VIA Arts Prize, Brazilian embassy, London, UK
Cloud Gallery, London, UK
Underdog Gallery, London, UK
Cambridge Art Fair, London, UK
Collections
Alfardan Group
World Health Organisation WHO
Wish Foundation - Qatar
Liverpool Football Club
Faithless - Maxi Jazz
Baroness Gloria Hooper
Michael Portillo
Work Experience
2000/2002 Wunderman Thompson (former JWT), Graphic Designer.
Brands: Unilever, Nisan, Doritos
2003/2005 Sancho BBDO, Creative
Brands: General Motors Colmotores, Gatorade, Lukafe,
2017/2020 Darren Paul Photography – Lighting Assistance
Community Work
Dairo has worked worldwide with children and adults, helping them discover the transformative power of art and creativity as a way to express their feelings and process emotional issues. Art is an especially powerful tool for people that don’t have the words to express their feelings when they suffer from depression, anxiety or have experienced abuse or experienced trauma.
2019 World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Five-day collaborative painting process with hundreds of high-profile attendees, to raise awareness of global health and health workers.
2019 Sub/Consciousness, Italy
Analysis of conscious and subconscious creative processes for individuals with social and learning disabilities, resulting in an exhibition of their work.
2019 Chora Chori, Kathmandu, Nepal
Trauma through art. Working with rescued children and curating an exhibition of their work.
2018 World Innovation Summit for Health, Doha, Qatar
A real-time painting entitled ‘Father and Son’ depicting Qatar’s commitment to creating support networks for people suffering from mental illness.
2018 Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit, London, UK
A collaborative painting process with delegates from around the world, including the Princess Kate and Prince William.
2021 Wellbeing workshop for The Khabensky Charitable Foundation in Moscow.
The foundation has been providing treatment, rehabilitation and support for children with brain cancer.
The project - a partnership with London based art consultancy The Art Partners and the Russian Impressionism Museum.