Jess Sabogal’s gleaming trans messages of the extraordinary

Jess Sabogal can’t be put into one category when it comes to making art. Rather, they check many boxes within a diversely defined art practice. Sabogal has long used printmaking and large-scale public murals to document and disrupt narratives surrounding queer, trans, migrant, women of color, gender-nonconforming, and Indigenous people. “I am a social practice artist working across public art, printmaking, sculpture, photography, and ceramics. I began 16 years ago as a muralist, and have since expanded into three-dimensional work, bronze casting, clay, and installation. Through portraiture, I erect my own monuments to create visibility in communities worldwide that preclude and exclude members of my community,” Sabogal said. Photo by Jean Melesaine They explain that their commitment to creating public art through large-scale, hand-painted murals is shaped by the tension they experience in their body while navigating spaces that deny their right to exist. “Each work captures