Javier Piñon is a self-proclaimed dumpster-diver who, starting at a young age, began to accumulate objects that demonstrate his love of nature and fantasy. This sensibility figures in his artwork, which is recognized for its collaged aggregation of images into semi-narrative and humorous scenes. Many of his works feature cowboys as central subjects—a trait that critics have seen as a vestige of Piñon’s childhood in Texas. Between 2005 and 2007, he made a series of collages of cowboys seemingly battling huge numbers of ornate chairs; in a 2012 exhibition, Piñon presented a suite of mixed-media paintings spotlighting a boxing match between a cowboy and a minotaur. Behind the seeming lightness of their subjects, Piñon’s works deal with themes of history, masculinity, and American idealism.