PRESS RELEASE: MANUEL PIEDRA JR. PRESENTS SOLO EXHIBITION AT FANDI MATA

A New Body of Work Exploring Memory, Emotion, and the Subconscious

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - September 2026 - Harlem-based Boricua and Ecuadorian artist Manuel Piedra Jr. presents a new solo exhibition at Fandi Mata, bringing together a body of paintings that examines the subconscious as one of the most honest forms of reality.

Born in New York in 1997, Piedra works at the intersection of memory, desire, emotion, and lived experience. Through acrylic, oil, and mixed media, his paintings move beyond literal representation, creating atmospheric environments where figures, forms, and memories appear to shift between clarity and dissolution.

Rather than depicting the world as it is seen, Piedra is interested in what remains beneath the surface, the emotional residue carried through experience, memory, and human connection.

His compositions resist fixed interpretation. Figures emerge and recede as though remembered rather than observed, while layered surfaces create a sense of psychological space. Color, texture, gesture, and fragmented forms become a visual language for experiences that are often difficult to articulate.

“The subconscious is where experience becomes feeling, where memory, desire, and emotion exist without needing to be explained.”

Piedra’s practice reflects a contemporary New York sensibility while remaining deeply rooted in personal and cultural experience. His work invites viewers to move away from the question of what a painting represents and instead consider what it makes them remember, feel, or confront within themselves.

The exhibition at Fandi Mata offers an intimate encounter with Piedra’s evolving visual language and presents a selection of works that demonstrate his ongoing exploration of the space between the recognizable and the unknown.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Artist : Manuel Piedra Jr.

Exhibition: Solo Exhibition by Manny Manuel

Venue: Fandi Mata

Address: 74 Bayard St, Brooklyn, NY 11222

Exhibition Period: September 9 – October 13, 2026

Curated by: Ovono Agency

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING

September 9, 2026 - Opening Event The exhibition opens with an evening introducing Piedra’s new body of work to artists, collectors, creatives, and the broader New York art community.

September 16, 2026 - Networking & Collector Viewing An opportunity for collectors, art professionals, and guests to experience the exhibition and engage with the work in an intimate setting.

September 23, 2026 - Networking & Collector Viewing Hosted By Parlor Social Club. An intimate evening presented by Parlor Social Club, bringing together art collectors, artists, creatives, and members of New York’s cultural community. Guests will have the opportunity to experience Manuel Piedra Jr.’s exhibition and participate in a special Q&A session with the artist, offering insight into his creative process, inspirations, personal experiences, and the ideas behind the works on view. The evening will also provide an opportunity for guests to connect, network, and engage in meaningful conversations around contemporary art and collecting.

September 30, 2026 - Networking & Collector Viewing An evening centered on art, conversation, networking, and deeper engagement with Piedra’s work.

October 7, 2026 - Closing Event The exhibition concludes its public programming with a closing celebration bringing together the community surrounding the exhibition.

The exhibition will remain on view through October 13, 2026.

ABOUT MANUEL PIEDRA JR.

Manuel Piedra Jr. (b. 1997, New York) is a Harlem-based Boricua and Ecuadorian artist whose practice explores the subconscious as a space where memory, desire, and emotion become visual experience.

Working across acrylic, oil, and mixed media, Piedra creates layered, atmospheric compositions in which figures and forms fluctuate between recognition and dissolution. His work resists straightforward depiction, instead translating lived experience into an intuitive visual language.

At the center of his practice is an interest in what exists beneath appearances, the memories we carry, the emotions that remain after an experience, and the internal realities that shape how we understand the world.

ABOUT OVONO AGENCY

Ovono Agency is a creative and cultural agency working across art, artists, exhibitions, events, media, and cultural programming. Through collaborations with artists, galleries, collectors, and creative communities, Ovono Agency develops platforms designed to connect contemporary art with broader audiences.

PRESS & MEDIA CONTACT

Ovono Agency • New York, NY

Contact Information

• Website / Instagram – www.ovonoagency.com / @ovoomedia