Statement
I learned to draw as a way to connect.
As a shy kid, I sketched cartoons of my sisters, my family, and classmates — breaking the ice when words felt too heavy. Over time, those playful portraits grew into layered paintings and murals. Through them, I’ve painted my own process of healing — stories of resilience, personal growth, and change — carrying grief, beauty, and love in ways that connect people across distances and keep memories alive.
I grew up between countries, shaped by both separation and deep family bonds. I carry my father’s quiet encouragement from afar, the strength of the women who raised me, and my belief that we are always growing — like the twisted roots and branches I paint again and again in my work.
My paintings often center female figures intertwined with elements of nature — roots, branches, flowers — as symbols of resilience and renewal. I use mixed media and, at times, layered torn paper to mirror the way we evolve — how healing is rarely clean, but textured, torn, and full of complexity. My paintings are stories of growth — where even the deepest wounds can give birth to beauty. Flowers bloom from fractured forms, roots entwine with human figures, and winds carry ribbons of hope, each image a reminder that transformation often emerges from vulnerability.
My interest in murals began in high school, when my art teacher asked me to design the stage backdrops and murals for our school’s anniversary. Leading the concept and working with a team to bring it to life was my first experience transforming a space through art — and it sparked a love for large-scale storytelling that continues today.
My murals grow from the same roots as my paintings. They carry the same flowing lines, organic forms, and recurring symbols — but on a scale that transforms entire rooms and outdoor spaces into sanctuaries. Designed in dialogue with the spaces they inhabit, they root the walls in narratives of resilience, beauty, and connection. Whether wrapping around a quiet bedroom or stretching across a sunlit garden wall, each mural invites people to pause, feel, and see a part of their own story reflected back to them.
Biography
Joset Medina is a Venezuelan-American artist and architect whose work transforms walls and canvases into layered narratives of resilience, identity, and renewal. Blending an architectural approach to space with emotional storytelling, he creates immersive murals and paintings that explore personal growth, healing, and human connection.
Drawing and painting since childhood, Medina began using art to understand and express the world — a passion that led to his first press feature at age 16 in La Nación (Venezuela). His interest in murals began in high school, when he designed and coordinated large-scale stage backdrops for his school’s anniversary celebrations — an early experience in combining storytelling, teamwork, and space transformation. He earned his degree in architecture in Venezuela before moving to Panama, where he developed his artistic career alongside architectural and interior design projects. There, he collaborated with renowned jewelry designer Melina Typaldos to create her boutique for CasaCor Panamá, an international interior design exhibition, which included a portrait he painted of Typaldos that received additional press coverage.
In Spain, Medina’s work was featured in an exhibition in Talavera de la Reina, where he presented a large-scale painting inspired by the city’s pottery traditions and architectural heritage. The piece — filmed during its creation by Castilla-La Mancha News — was later gifted to the city in a public ceremony and now resides in one of Talavera’s public buildings.
Now based in San Francisco, Medina draws on his multicultural background and LGBTQ+ perspective to create work rich in meaningful imagery, layered textures, and recurring symbols — especially female figures and natural elements. Collaborating with interior designers, landscape architects, and private clients, he designs custom murals that merge architectural expertise with narrative depth, transforming spaces into immersive environments.
His work has been featured internationally, with publications including San Francisco Magazine, Modern Luxury, SF Weekly, Bay Area Reporter, Art of Times, La Tribuna de Toledo, Espacios Magazine Panamá, and La Prensa Panamá.