During the week that the Esprit Travel + Tours group was with us in Oaxaca, we made a visit to Gabo (Gabriel) Mendoza whose studio is on Xicotencatl near Hidalgo. Originally from Mexico City, Gabo did volunteer work there for many years with street children. He incorporates their childlike curiosity, resilience, and wonderment in his work. He also captures their pain as children of women who work the street. We spent time with Gabo in his studio before going on an all-afternoon, four-stop Oaxaca Eats tasting tour with Lorena.
Creativity has no boundaries for Gabo. He uses paint, amate paper, found objects, sand, glue, and weaving in his art. He explores the abstract and the literal. He takes us on a journey of self-reflection and explores what it means to give up pretenses and model behavior. The joyful, playful and inquisitive nature of the child is fully realized in his paintings that incorporate bright colors and a whimsical drawing style.
Here is a photo essay of our time with Gabo Mendoza in his studio. On Friday, January 20, he is making a presentation at the Oaxaca Lending Library at 4:30 p.m. If you are in town, see if you can snag a ticket!
Oaxaca has a deep and rich art, design, photography and graphic art printmaking tradition. Galleries are all over the city. Before we went to Gabo, we visited Gabriela Morac from Tlacochahuaya who is represented in Santa Fe, NM, and Alan Altamirano, who has exhibited worldwide, at his La Chicharra printmaking studio. Having an art walking tour rounded out our experience to know and appreciate the culture here.
