Laura Elenes (1933–2005) was a Mexican painter, sculptor and print maker. whose work was recognized with 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 ...

and several tributes in Mexico and other countries after her death.

Career

Born in

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of ...

, Sinaloa, Mexico, Elenes trained in art and industrial design, and taught for 23 years at the Centro de Investigaciones de Diseño Industrial of the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM). She was also a researcher of pre-Hispanic literature. Her art career spanned from 1970 to 2005, which included collaboration with contemporaries such as

Juan O’Gorman Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 – January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect. Early life and family Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal Distri ...

Jorge González Camarena Jorge González Camarena (24 March 1908 – 24 May 1980) was a Mexican painter, muralist and sculptor. He is best known for his mural work, as part of the Mexican muralism movement, although his work is distinct from the main names associat ...

and

Raúl Anguiano José Raúl Anguiano Valadez (February 26, 1915 – January 13, 2006) was a notable Mexican painter of the 20th century, part of the “second generation” of Mexican muralists which continued the tradition of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Or ...

. She had over fifty individual exhibitions and participated in over 100 collective shows both in Mexico and abroad. In Mexico, important exhibitions include those at the

Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros The Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros is a cultural, political and social facility located in Mexico City as part of the World Trade Center Mexico City. It was designed and decorated by David Alfaro Siqueiros in the 1960s and hosts the largest mural w ...

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

, Galerías Aristos, Museo Nacional de la Estampa, the Contemporary Art Museum in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

Los Pinos Los Pinos (English: ''The Pines'') was the official residence and office of the President of Mexico from 1934 to 2018. Located in the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) in central Mexico City, it became the presidential seat in 1934, wh ...

and the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. Her work also appeared in countries such as Japan, the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, Turkey, Italy,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. Elenes’ work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museo de la Mujer in Mexico City, Fundación Cultural Banamex, the Domeq Foundation, UNAM, the Pinacotheca of the state of

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

and the Humor Museum in

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internatio ...

, Bulgaria. During her career, she was active in artists’ associations such as the Sociedad Mexicana de Autores de Artes Plásticas (SOMAAP) and was the director of the Global Culture Center Mexico for sixteen years.

Artistry

Elenes created both abstract and figurative pieces. Her aesthetics were based on patterns, geometry and materials from the pre-Hispanic world. Her works often contrast soft and hard materials and images, often working with loose weave fabric, thread and string. According to the Nadja Betrón, the artist worked to create a Mexican design that was contemporary and not folkloric. One of her last projects, with the name of ''El Largo Viaje desde el Rabinal'' (2002) consists of paintings, sculpture, prints and music inspired by the Mayan work ''El Varón del Rabinal'', blending a pre Hispanic cosmology with contemporary aesthetics. Some of her work was signed with a pseudonym.

Recognition

In 2008, author Nadja Betrón published a book about Elenes’ life and creative process called ''Entre Hilos y Cuerdas'', which contains a collection of personal writings, articles from newspapers and magazines, photographs and more. The title of the book refers to some of the materials she used in her works. In 2009, the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana held a retrospective with fifty of her works and a presentation of the book. This was followed by a similar event at the Anagma Gallery in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 2010 and a tribute was held in the same year sponsored by the Mexican Embassy in Colombia and the BiblioRed de la Alcaldía in Bogota.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elenes, Laura 1933 births 2005 deaths Mexican women painters Mexican printmakers Women printmakers Abstract painters Artists from Sinaloa People from Mazatlán 20th-century printmakers 20th-century Mexican sculptors 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century Mexican women artists