Mexican Artist Cisco Jiménez Is Headed to Art Basel Hong Kong
The iconic artist will show in the Discoveries section
Cisco Jiménez is no stranger to the Mexican gallery scene. At 52 years old, he’s been creating mixed-media art for nearly three decades. His work comments on the socio-political history of Mexico and contextualizes traditional iconography with contemporary references such narco-violence, U.S. pop culture, and colonialism. Born in Cuernavaca, Jiménez broke into the fine art world during the graffiti movement in the 1990s and landed representation by MIA Contemporary in Mexico City.
Despite his icon status in Mexico, the artist will be part of the Discoveries section at Art Basel Hong Kong, a display dedicated to up-and-coming talent. “I will be presented as an eternally emerging artist,” Jiménez joked in an interview with the New York Times. “It’s a totally new experience for my work. I will have to confront a new public and from a distant context in all the senses.”
Creating a portrait of Mexico, Jiménez uses paint, pen, clay and carved wood while infusing a variety of discarded objects like old shoes, children’s toys, rusty saws, religious totems and boomboxes, the latter of which has become a fan favourite. Jiménez has conceived thousands of individual works that link together as a picture of Mexico and more specifically, his hometown of Cuernavaca.
Art Basel Hong Kong runs from May 27th-29th at the Hong Convention and Exhibition Center.
