José Zúñiga (born 1937) is a
Mexican painter whose work has been exhibited both in Mexico and abroad. His work has been recognized by membership in the
Salón de la Plástica Mexicana
Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (Hall of Mexican Fine Art; ''SPM'') is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center o ...
.
Zúñiga was born in the Carmen Alto neighborhood of the
city of Oaxaca in 1937. In 1943, he moved with his family to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
where he attended middle school, and then studied electronics at a vocational school. However, at age twenty one, he decided to study at the
because of his interest in drawing. One of his teachers,
Benito Messeguer Benito Messeguer (October 27, 1930 – October 19, 1982) was a Mexican artist born in Spain, best known for his murals which continued much of the work of the Mexican muralism movement. His work was recognized with a tribute at the Palacio de Bell ...
, urged him to devote himself to painting. Shortly after, he began exhibiting his work in Mexico and abroad.
In 1969, he work received two acquisition awards from the national painting competition sponsored by
CONCANACO. In 1970, he won first place in painting at the annual competition of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, whose technical council he joined in 1971.
[
From 1972 to 1975, he was in Europe on a grant from the French government to study at the School for Decorative Arts in Paris. While in Europe, he traveled to countries such as Italy, Spain, England, Germany, Greece, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia and the Netherlands. He also created two murals, one at the Rohner studio in 1973 and one called “Homage to Pablo Neruda” in ]Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
. He received a second grant to return to Paris from 1980 to 1982 to write a thesis called “La pintura mural Mexicana y sus aportes contemporaneous en otros paises,” related to his interest in urban art.[
During his career, he has continued to exhibit individually both in Mexico and abroad, as well as teach at La Esmeralda, where he was director from 1991 to 1993. His works can be found in public and private collections such as those of the ]Museo de Arte Moderno
The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) is located in Chapultepec park, Mexico City, Mexico.
The museum is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura and provides exhibitions of national and international contemporary a ...
and the Musée National d'Art Moderne
The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in t ...
in Paris.[
Zúñiga is a neo figurative painter, but he considers himself a colorist first. He starts with figurative outlines but there are abstract elements. His work is generally influenced by pre Hispanic colors and lines.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuniga, Jose
1937 births
Mexican artists
Living people
Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" alumni