Iztapalapa Mural program transforms gray into bursts of color
Most sources in English about Mexican art say that Mexican muralism ended in the mid-20th century with the passing of great masters like Diego Rivera. But creative forces, most notably government art programs and street artists, took over to conserve socially-themed mural painting and to help it evolve.
Mexican tile artists’ contributions to their craft’s homeland
When U.S. tile artist Isaiah Zagar began his first projects in Mexico, little did he know how far his students would take what he taught them – both literally and figuratively.
Reinventing surrealism, according to artist Jorge Domínguez Cruz
One such maestro is Huastec (Tenek) artist Jorge Domínguez Cruz, who combines his people’s cosmovisión, his agricultural upbringing and his own philosophical reflection to create what he calls “Indigenous surrealism.”
San Miguel de Allende’s art scene marches to the beat of its own drummer
Today, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato is world-famous for its ambiance. After all, Condé Nast declared it the “world’s best place to live” three times. But one important feature is its artists community, second in Mexico only behind Mexico City despite its small size.
The destruction of one mural makes way for for more art in San Luis Potosí
The destruction of an art installation by the city of San Luis Potosí (SLP) might just have a silver lining.
Marissa Martínez’s life is defined by a struggle to create art in an environment that is not the most conducive to it.
The bold life of Tina Modotti - a 20th century expat in Mexico
It is almost cliché that many foreigners find in Mexico the chance to do and be quite different from what we can in our home countries. But when it comes to commitment to personal independence, art and politics, few of us can match the story of Tina Modotti, which is even more amazing given that she arrived in Mexico 100 years ago.
Mexican muralism had a lessor-known international side
The names Rivera, Kahlo, Siqueiros and Orozco still dominate the imagination when it comes to Mexican art, but did you know that from the 1920s to the 1950s, Mexico’s muralism movement has so much prestige internationally that it displaced Europe for a time?
Ivonne Kennedy: Oaxacan painter with international sensibility
Don’t let the name fool you, Ivonne Kennedy is a genuine Oaxacan painter—but on her own terms.
Kennedy was born in 1971 in the city of Oaxaca. While ‘foreign’ last names are not terribly uncommon in Mexico, they are pretty rare in Oaxaca, and ‘foreign’ first names even more so.
Europe’s early 20th-century Surrealists loved Mexico but got little love in return
Shortly after arriving in Mexico in 1938, André Breton, the French father of Surrealism, had proclaimed the country “…the surrealist place par excellence.” Years later, Salvador Dalí would reinforce this notion saying, “In no way will I return to … a country that is more surreal than my paintings.”
Today, the word “surreal” is still used to describe Mexico, often by us foreigners to describe aspects of its culture that are both awe-inspiring and inscrutable. But the European concept of the Surreal was not initially accepted by the Mexican elite.
Meet Neill James, the American who became Ajijic’s ‘art godmother’
Ajijic is widely noted as one of Mexico’s main art towns. Yes, much of that today is because of the many foreign artists and collectors, but I’ll argue that even more important are locals who have been nurtured in this direction since the mid-20th century.
On the business end of art: stories of foreign-owned galleries in Mexico
What is it about Mexico that brings out talent and appreciation for art? For the last 100 years, foreigners have flocked here to develop a latent appreciation for art or even find one to begin with.
Toluca’s stunning Sun Man masterpiece remains little-known elsewhere
Long gone are the days in Mexico when the equinox had spiritual significance — or are they?
Many of the country’s archeological sites, such as Teotihuacán and Chichén Itzá, bring thousands of people to see the sun rise in these places in March. But in the unassuming industrial city of Toluca, México state, just west of Mexico City, there is a modern “temple” to the cult of the sun.
You probably know his art but not his name
There is a very good chance that you have seen this artist’s work, but have no idea who he is.
Drive into and around metropolises such as Mexico City, Chihuahua, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Cancún, Veracruz, Torreon, Campeche, Toluca, Cuernavaca, Colima, Chetumal, Nayarit, Villahermosa and more and you will see at least one of the monumental sculptures by the Mexican artist known best as Sebastián. They have a distinct abstract or semi-abstract style; once you see a few, you will recognize others.
Artist turned her Tepoztlán neighborhood into a community coloring book
Judy Wray is one of those people who can come to paradise and find a way to make it more beautiful.
Creating guided art tours in a Puebla is a ‘learn as you go’ experience
If you follow my column, you know that I have developed quite an interest in recycled mosaic art. I used to be a quilter back in the day, but the eyes don’t let me do that anymore. Arranging tile “scraps” satisfies the same urge to upcycle the worthless into the beautiful.
Ancient art draws modern Japanese sculptors to Mexico
There are three Japanese sculptors — Kiyoshi Takahashi, Hiroyuki Okumura and Ryuichi Yahagi — who never planned on making Mexico a fundamental part of their lives, but they did, and to the benefit of sculpture in Mexico and their adopted home of Veracruz.
In this Puebla town, intricate mosaics entice visitors to explore
Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) tourism promotion program has been a phenomenal success, introducing city dwellers to small rural towns. However, too often those same visitors don’t make it out of the town’s historic center.
Mary Carmen Olvera Trejo has found one way to entice them out and spread the tourism money around a little better.
Can jazz and hip hop save dying languages? Indigenous bands say yes.
It is too easy to think of indigenous communities as never-changing living museums; certainly Mexico’s decades of tourist promotion gives that impression. But the truth is that indigenous cultures change — and wrestle with various conundrums as they do so — just like the rest of the world does.
Diverse Baja migrant community finds pride, identity, connection in murals
It is definitely a case of “great minds think alike.”
Julia Celeste and Rogelio Santos are both artists dedicated to using murals to improve community ties in San Quintín, a poor rural farming valley that is near Ensenada but also a world away from it. Separately, they saw the beauty and problems that surround them and came up with the same idea.
Baja California artist continues Mexican tradition of examining womanhood
The border looms large for all Mexicans who live near it whether or not they cross, says artist Alejandra Phelts, simply because there is a concept of “another side.”
“They say that we in the north are agringado (gringofied) … that we are a mix — a mezcla … We are, but we also have many ‘national’ [Mexican] values that are more strongly seen because we contrast ourselves with ‘the other.’”
Puppetry duo brings rural communities entertainment, emotional support
It sounds like a hippie’s dream, traveling around Mexico in a van, giving puppet shows to rural children to pay the bills.
“To do theater is a lifestyle choice,” says Sandra Reyes, who with Ángel Ledezma forms A Escena Teatro. For 20 years, they have been driving around rural Mexico, continuing a long but vanishing tradition of traveling shows.
People power fuels Mexico’s newest wave of murals
Street art has been the muralism of our time, taking graffiti from eyesore to cultural contribution, often with positive messages that neighborhoods and cities can support. How do you make that even better? By having the community get directly involved in the design and execution!
Mexico loses artist who “played with dolls” after the 1985 earthquake
“I guess at my age, death is around the corner, but it doesn’t worry me. When it comes, it comes,” said Spanish-Mexican artist Vicente Rojo at an event to honor his 89th birthday. Little did he know he would die only two days later on March 17, 2021.
Former Caribbean art students’ careers thrive across the sea in Mexico
With Mexico’s rich art history, why isn’t it a major draw for foreign art students?
Mexico’s snow and ice sculptors are champions in an unfamiliar medium
Most foreigners flee to Mexico to escape the ice and snow, but some Mexicans actually go looking for it.
Born in 1943 in Mexico City, internationally recognized snow and ice sculpture sculptor Abel Ramírez Aguilar only began competing in the sport in the 1980s, after encountering snow for the first time in his 40s. Visiting friends in Quebec, his first experience of snow was magical and sensual.
Day of the Dead is more than just welcoming back our loved ones to “eat” tamales. Images of Frida Kahlo, heroes from the Mexican Revolution, and even local personages appear on public altars, not because anyone might be related to them, but because these people are important to cultural identity.
While we might not think of ourselves as such, we foreigners living and exploring Mexico are part of an inter-generational phenomenon, which has a long history and even unsung heroes.
Mexico became this sculptor’s land of artistic opportunity
Artist Francesca Dalla Benetta’s story shows how an even seemingly fragmented past can come together to make something truly amazing.
Chiapas through the eyes of Akio Hanafuji
Mexico captivates hundreds upon hundreds of artists from the Americas and Europe, no surprise there. But it has held a strong fascination for Japanese artists as well despite, or perhaps because of, the huge cultural differences.
Chiapas gallery expresses Mayan culture in new ways
Although we usually associate modern art with major cities, traditional indigenous cultures can provide inspiration to take painting, sculpture and more in new directions.
Historical printing techniques are preserved on an old hacienda in Veracruz
Tucked away in the rainforest of northern Veracruz is La Ceiba Gráfica, a restoration and community project dedicated to researching and preserving pre-20th century printing processes.
The world of indigenous women focus of Mexico City exhibitio
Indigenous Mexican women are the focus of a new exhibition at the Salon of Mexican Fine Art (Salón de la Plástica Mexicana) in Mexico City, this year’s edition of an annual program in honor of International Women’s Day, celebrated next Sunday.
Mexican soprano wins audition for Metropolitan Opera
Mexican soprano Denis Vélez is one of five candidates selected in a competition for the chance to audition for the Metropolitan Opera, held by the Metropolitan Opera National Council (MONC) in New York on March 1.
Viewing today’s world through the lens of indigenous cosmology
Filogonio Naxín may have found a way to make the old myths relevant to the modern world.
Though no fan of sculpture, critic denies smashing it to pieces
An avant-garde work exhibited at one of the Mexico City’s most important annual art shows may or may not have been intentionally destroyed by a disapproving critic last weekend, though a number of observers believe it was her intention to do so.
Artist’s goal is to ‘paint’ all of Puerto Vallarta in tile
Mexico is no stranger to tile, but it’s been considered more of a utilitarian medium than an artistic one. Mosaics or trencadís (work with broken tiles), though fairly common in southern Europe, are few and far between here.