The work of Mexican artist Curiot is still on display at FFDG in San Francisco. If you find yourself around those parts and have not yet seen the exhibition, then fear not- you still have three days to roll through. Age of Omuktlans closes this Saturday. I would get there before then if I were you. Curiot’s technique is looking pretty solid with this new batch of paintings that allude to Mexican traditions (geometric designs, Day of the Dead styles, myths and legends, and tribal tinges). His characters seem to exist outside of time, and possess so much magnetism that the artist’s compositions maintain a certain vibrancy even in the absence of any background elements. Spring is here, and these works express a lot of the churning, dynamic forces coming into play outdoors right now. Rain or shine, Curiot seems to have a handle on the natural dynamics constantly at play around us. And if you can’t make it to the SF institution’s IRL location, click past the jump to see more images from the show.
Tag Archives: Mexico
 At FFDG "Pin It")
The Strange Beauty Of Mexico City As Captured By Mark Powell’s Photographs
Mark Powell is a Mexico City based photographer who has done an amazing job documenting his city. As someone who has lived in the city, I can attest that Powell’s images do the difficult work of capturing the gorgeous strangeness that is DF (Distrito Federal). It’s a city that’s at once ancient and modern, chaotic and simple, deeply catholic and extremely progressive, the largest metropolis in the Americas yet seemingly invisible. Mexico City is hyperbole and juxtaposition and has seemed previously impossible to document in a sufficient way until Mark Powell’s photographs gave it some of the justice it so deserves. My advice: Paw through Powell’s portfolio, vote, and if the elections don’t turn out as you might want them to, jump the border for the next few years and get to know the urban wilderness of Mark Powell’s Mexico City. (via)
Our Exquisite Corpse’s Huichol Bead Skulls
One of my favorite tendencies in Mexican cultures is their positive relationship with death, and the above skulls are some beautiful evidence of it. Our Exquisite Corpse partnered with artists from the Huichol community of the Sierra Madres in West Mexico to create a series of stunning beaded skulls. Bead art goes back centuries on centuries on centuries in Huichol culture, from enormous tableaus to, more recently, tiny tourist coasters and covering every object on the way . The skulls are a combination of Huichol artists and OEC designers, painstakingly hand-beaded, and for sale on their website. ( via )
Curiot’s Mexican Murals
Curiot is a Mexico City based artist who combines indigenous and street art to make some incredible, mythical murals. I would recommend making the trip south to see some his murals in person; it’s 100% worth it. If you get there and can’t find any, you might be able to pick up some of his sculptures at La Vamp skateboard shop in La Roma.
Ivan C.
Meet Ivan C. – a visual artist from Mexico. Although he works commercially, his work is conceptul, believing art should now be “Cosa Virtuale,” with technology not leading the ideas, but setting free all the visual possibilities for the interpretation of reality. Ivan releases his imagery through multiple mixed-media processes involving digital photography, digital collage and experimental graphic manipulations.
Dr. Lakra
James Pomerantz
Agua Sagrada is the title of this series of photographs by Columbia-educated James Pomerantz. The photos were taken in Mexico at a cenote, which is a water-filled sinkhole, found mostly in the Yucatan, that the Mayans believed to be portals to another world. Today these cenotes are tourist destinations, though the otherworldly Mayan connotations are still plainly evident in their haunting, ethereal appearance.
More photos after the jump, but check out Pomerantz’s site for some other beautiful sets, mostly of poverty or tragedy-stricken places like Eastern Europe and the Congo.
One Million Ways Mexico Is A Better Artist Than All Of Us
Jared Lindsay Clark makes an interesting observation on how everyday images from Mexico make for better works of art than most pieces one comes across in galleries.
