Gabriel Mendoza

The Donkey and the Horse

2025

Gabriel Mendoza (b. Mexico City, 1973) is a figurative artist whose work often evokes children's expressive language. The seeming simplicity of his imagery rests on a sophisticated understanding of contemporary art movements such as Arte Povera and Abstract Expressionism. He incorporates artisanal techniques such as weaving and paper-mache with his highly accomplished painting modes. Years ago, while mourning the tragic loss of his four-year old son, Mendoza created a new artistic vocabulary in which the image appears to have been drawn and painted by his young son. During the following years, he continued to develop this work with its images of simple children's drawings and the poignancy and power of their handwritten words. More recently, Mendoza has developed other projects including a series of Mexican wrestlers (lucha libre), complex montages that incorporate images from old masters and religious iconography, paper-mache and bronze sculptures, and paintings about fishermen and sea life. Mendoza lives and works in Oaxaca, Mexico.