FIGUEIRIDO Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in the Garden at Night
Josias Figueirido, “Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in the Garden (at Night) #64,” 2025
The Zillman Art Museum – University of Maine, located at 40 Harlow Street in Bangor, ME, opened five featured winter exhibitions on January 16.
ZAM is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am – 5 pm and brings modern and contemporary art to the region, presenting approximately 21 original exhibitions each year. Admission to the Zillman Art Museum is free in 2026 thanks to the generosity of Birchbrook.
 
JOSIAS FIGUEIRIDO: HORIZONS OF REST
January 16 – May 2, 2026

In Horizons of Rest, Pennsylvania-based artist Josias Figueirido depicts whimsical environments with colorful, stylized trees and flora that serve as backdrops for his eccentric, cartoon-like subjects: Piri the Dreamer and his companion Flying Coyote, as well as other hybrid creatures. The exhibition brings together an assortment of recently completed large-scale paintings along with a series of small canvases. Through the artist’s quirky settings and characters, we are invited to contemplate our own fantastical narratives and meaning. Figueirido’s work with animation and digital technology offers an additional experiential opportunity for visitors. Using augmented reality viewed through a cell phone, the artist’s vibrant and playful subjects come alive to inhabit the physical space. Depending on how the viewer navigates the gallery, hybrid beasts can be seen flying about, while fictional botanicals appear in three dimensions.

Figueirido has divided the exhibition into two environmental moments–the paintings in one gallery depict night scenes while the other features settings bathed in daylight. The unifying element of the show is the depiction of safe spaces for protagonists Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote to find relaxation and moments of rest. The artist states, “I used to think of my character, Piri, as a kind of self-portrait. As I developed this body of work, however, I came to realize that it is both Piri and Coyote combined that function as a self-portrait.” The works in Horizons of Rest are infused with optimism–containing themes of friendship, community, and belonging.

Josias Figueirido was born in Riberia, Spain. He received his MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and his BA Fine Art from London Metropolitan University in London, UK. Figueirido is Assistant Professor of Art at Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania.
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CONLEY GiantsInALandscape detail for email
Jaclyn Conley”Giants in the Landscape,” 2025 (Detail)
JACLYN CONLEY:  MADE OF STORIES
January 16 – May 2, 2026

Made of Stories features the large-scale paintings and collages of Connecticut-based artist, Jaclyn Conley. These artworks are driven by curiosity and comprehensive research; each painting draws upon many aspects of history and art history. In A Time for All Things, the title was inspired by a quote from Cervantes’ two-part novel Don Quixote, one of the subjects in the painting. Conley combines the images of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza with the sensational lore of yippies and hippies from the 1967 March on the Pentagon – an event in which Abby Hoffman pledged to levitate the government building. These two accounts are interconnected to form a dynamic narrative that speaks to the larger concept of a quest for the impossible endeavor.

In the three collaged paintings, Conley reveals the process of piecing together fragmented abstractions that inform ideas that are further explored in larger paintings. Conley explains, “memory is similar to collage – bits of information are coming together that we weigh differently, that they change as well, that they are not solid.” This undertaking is an essential part of making these multi-layered stories.

By using revered art historical references such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Hunters in the Snow – Conley is tapping into a uniting factor of seasonal realities while connecting the imagery from archival photographs of the Vermont commune, Total Loss Farm. These depictions come together in Communards Under the Stars where Conley incorporates figures and landscapes that evoke a sense of wintry enchantment, while also revealing the harsh reality of the coldest season. The artist’s use of layered oil paint creates movement and texture that pulls the viewer into the richly colored, fractured narrative she presents.
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ADDITIONAL FEATURED EXHIBITIONS:
Botanique: Works from the Collection
January 16 – April 18, 2026
Famous Faces from the Collection
January 16 – April 18, 2026
Young Curators: Moments of Home and Place
January 16 – May 2, 2026