Be sure to listen to Alejandro on my podcast
Details below
A few years later, Eliot and I bought our first Garcia Contreras sculpture from Graham Wilson of Swivel Gallery in New York. In many ways, that piece tells the story of our own appetite for daring art—art that refuses to behave.
There is so much energy in this sculpture that I sometimes feel as though I can actually hear it speaking to me. And the message is always the same – Live life on your own terms.
There is something wonderfully reassuring about living with art that doesn’t merely decorate your home, but reflects who you are, challenges how you think, and—in our case—honors the choices we have made with our lives.
And that is exactly what Alejandro Garcia Contreras’s art does for us.
Below are photos I took at Alejandro’s studio in Guadalajara last February.
Alejandro Garcia Contreras (Tapachula, México) This is the press release from Lefebvre & Fils, one of the most respected galleries in Paris.
Garcia Contreras’s creative work is characterized by experimentation and dialogue between different materials and technical processes, making his work a mix between different media such as painting, sculpture, photography, video and graphic arts. This combination of elements results in suggestive forms in which the viewer can explore the divine and the evil, the magical, the erotic and the feminine, as well as various taboo dimensions of their own unconscious, thus discovering a new sense of divinity through contemporary idols.
Through his artistic projects, Garcia Contreras explores topics and themes inspired by contemporary popular culture, folklore, myth, occultism and religion. Having grown up in Chiapas, the Mexican artist was raised closely to nature and esotericism. At a young age, he experimented with magic and the occult. His work explores the unconscious, projecting codes and elements that inhabit it, remembering that art used to be a practice of crafting magical objects representing life and death.
Eroticism and femininity are also significant themes in his work, which usually materialize through sculpture and painting.
Garcia Contreras studied Visual Arts at the National School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving ENPEG/La Esmeralda. In 2016, he was invited to the Casa Wabi residency program. The same year, he launched the art residency Dedazo in Carrillo Puerto, Chiapas. In the last years, his work has received worldwide recognition and has been exhibited in the U.S., Sweden, Spain, Argentina, Holland, Canada, England, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru. He exhibited in various U.S based galleries such as Friedman Benda and David Castillo Gallery.
In Mexico, he has presented his work in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Ex Colegio de San Ildefonso, the Ex Teresa Museum, the National Center for the Arts, the Chopo University Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey, among others. He also exhibited in galleries such as Protectos Monclova, House of Gaga, Guadalajara 90210, Armada Galería, Travesía Cuatro and NASAL.SOLO
EXHIBITIONS
2025
The World Like a Labyrinth: Moreau, Biegas, García Contreras. Polish Historical and
Literary Society. Paris, France.
2024
¿Quién no ha intentado convertir una piedra en un recuerdo? Pioneer Gallery. NY,
USA.
2023
Frágil/ El misterio de los seres sensibles. Swivel Gallery. NY, USA.
La noche más obscura. Travesia Cuatro. GDL, MX.
Vibrations of an imperfect cosmic web. Saenger Gallery. CDMX, MX.
Espejo de la causa del todo. House of Gaga. GDL, MX.
2022
Sin el Impulso Imperioso de librarse del dolor. Proyecto NASAL. CDMX, MX.
2021
More Unchartered Heights of Disgrace. Gamma Galeria. GDL, MX.
La Clara Luz del Vacío que hay más Allá. Residencia 797. GDL, MX.
2019
Tratados sobre la Orgía del Fuego Cósmico. Guadalajara 90210. Zapopan, MX.
Festival of the Resurrection in collaboration with Ryohta Shimamoto. Eitoeiko Gallery,
Tokyo, Japan.
Invisible Empire. MOHA. Austin, USA.
2016 El Salvador Recurrente. Casa de la Cultura Luis Alaminos. Tuxtla, MX.
2015 Nuevos Dioses in collaboration with Josée Pedneault. Typology Gallery.
Toronto, Canada.
Todo lo que Cae. 1M/1A, Art. 123. CDMX, MX.
2014
La Chinche presenta: Alejandro Garcia Contreras. Galería La Chinche/Museo del
Eco. CDMX, MX.
2013 Watchtower and the herald of Presence. PS, Projectspace. Amsterdam,
Holanda.2009
Amexican cinematheque. Videodromo/Proyectos Monclova. Monterrey, MX.
2007
Stardust we are, stardust we will be. Proyectos Monclova, CDMX, MX.
RECENT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Myriad. Swivel Gallery. NY, USA.
Firekeepers. Vera Gallery. Madrid, Spain.
Le Soleil des Morts. Cité Falguière. Paris, France.
Ceramica Suro. Casa de México en España. Madrid, Spain.
Artists against the bombs. Lago Algo. CDMX, MX.
Sobre cómo poner el cuerpo. Karen Huber Galería. CDMX, MX.
2023
Artists against the bombs. Judd Foundation. New York, USA.
Verano Peligroso. Ayer Ayer. GDL, MX
Soft Shock. Ballista Space. CDMX, MX.
Superficies de Revolución. Galeria Karen Huber. CDMX, MX.
Una historia de colaboración, producción y coleccionismo en el Arte Contemporáneo.
Dallas Contemporary. Dallas, USA.
Cherry Blossom Party. Eitoeiko Gallery. Tokyo, Japan.
Nada sucede dos veces de la misma forma. Cerámica Suro/Base Agency. CDMX.
AGO Projects presenta: Alejandro Garcia Contreras. Ago. CDMX, MX.
POTHEADS. Swivel Gallery. New York, USA.
2022
Everything here is volcanic. Friedman Benda. NY, USA
The Floral Impulse. David Castillo Gallery. Miami, USA
La Epoca de Oro. GAMMA Galeria. Guadalajara, Mx.
The Covers/Duchamp. Kunst Arzt. Kyoto, Japan.
Formas Silenciosas. Guadalajara 90219. GDL, MX.
The Games we Play. New Image Art. Los Angeles, USA.
Subir y Bajar. MMGC + Base agency. Casa Basalta. CDMX, MX.
2021
Cerámica Suro. MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan. Zapopan, MX.
Fantasia Ficción. Gallery Weekend Madrid. Duffort Gallery. Madrid, España.Destroy all Monsters. Eitoeiko Gallery. Tokyo, Japan.
House Parté. Palm Spring Desert, USA.
Saludos Amigos. Proyecto Nasal. CDMX, MX.
Exposiciones Cruzadas. The White Lodge/ Smart Gallery. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Twisted Dream. 639 La Brea. Los Angeles, California, EUA.
PAIN THING. Yope Projects/Ruina. Oaxaca, MX.
Temporary Collection. Ed Video. Guelph, Canada.
2020
III Salon de Pintura. Ladrón Galeria. Oaxaca, MX.
End Result. DECESO gallery. Street action by posters all around the world.
Pabellón de las Escaleras. Guadalajara 90210. CDMX, MX.
El jardín de Galileo. Guadalajara 90210. CDMX, MX.
Antes de Cristo. Momo Room. Virtual exhibition.
Reinos Artificiales. Centro de la Imagen/Centro Nacional de las Artes. CDMX, MX.
Open Studio. Künstlerhaus Lottstetten. Lottstetten, Germany.
2019
Pre Bienal de la pipa. Ladron Galeria. CDMX, MX.
Loving the Alien. Cuadro 22. Chur, Switzerland.
Escultura de la Tierra. Centro Cultural Los Pinos. CDMX, MX.
Sueños. Espacio Unión. CDMX, MX.
La Divina Invasión. Gamma galeria. Guadalajara, MX.
Modern Love vol. 3. CDMX, MX.
2018
Antropología Moderna. Guadalajara 90210. Centro Roberto Garza Sada. Monterrey,
MX.
Mecánica Vegetal. Guadalajara 90210. CDMX, MX.
New Gods. Cuadro 22. Chur, Switzerland.
Art Next 3 in collaboration with Ryotha Shimamoto and Julie Escoffier. Sakae War.
Nagoya, Japan.
Homenaje a Carla Rippey. Galería ENPEG. CDMX, MX.
El departamento imaginario del Dr. Atl. Guadalajara 90210. CDMX, MX.
Geometría Primitiva. Guadalajara 90210/Galeria Mercado Negro. San Andres
Cholula, MX.
Predicciones. Nixon. Pasaje Esotérico. CDMX, MX.
Dolores. Guadalajara 90210. CDMX, MX.
2017
And the Sky Is Grey. Curated by Santi Vernetti. Art Toronto 2017.
Schools out Forever. Legato. Los Angeles, USA.
AN ANT BIT ME IN MY HEART, THEN MY TITTY WAS ON FIRE. Dedazo Art
Residency. Chiapas, MX.12 Teorías Modernas en la colonia. Curated by John Connors. Guadalajara 90210.
Guadalajara, MX.
Kazoo! Fest & Ed Video present: Present Rituals. Guelph, Canada.
Creación en Movimiento FONCA 2014-2015. Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco.
Bodega Acme. Salon Acme. CDMX, MX.
ART FAIRS
2025
Cerámica Suro. Material art fair. CDMX, MX.
Spax Projects. Ceramic Brussels. Brussels, Belgium.
SWIVEL. The Armory Show. New York, USA.
2024
Swivel Gallery. Nada Miami. Miami, Florida, USA.
MORE Projects. Paris International. Paris, France.
Maureen Paley. Frieze Art Fair. London, England.
Proyecto N.A.S.A.L. Zona Maco Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
Swivel Gallery. Material Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
Saenger Gallery. Material Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
Spax Projects. Ceramic Brussels. Brussels, Belgium.
2023
Gamma Galería. Oxígeno Art Fair. Asunción, Paraguay.
Eitoeiko Gallery. Art Osaka Art Fair. Osaka, Japan.
Swivel Gallery. NADA Art Fair. NY, USA.
Proyecto N.A.S.A.L. Zona Maco Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
Cerámica Suro. Material Art Fair. GDL, MX.
Eitoeiko. QiPO Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
2022
Obrera Centro. Material Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
2021
Guadalajara 90210 + GAMMA Galería. Untitled Art Fair. Miami, USA.
Salon Cosa GDL. Guadalajara, Jalisco, MX.
Proyecto N.A.S.A.L. Zona Maco Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
2020
Guadalajara 90210. Zona Maco Art Fair. CDMX, MX.2019
Galeria Eitoeiko. Aart Osaka. Osaka, Japan.
Obrera Centro. Material Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
Galeria Eitoeiko. QIPO Vol. 1. CDMX, MX.
2018
Guadalajara 90210. Zona Maco Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
2017
And the Sky is Grey. Art Toronto. Toronto, Canada.
The White Lodge Gallery. FACA Art Fair. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The White Lodge Gallery. Art Lima Fair. Lima, Peru.
2015
Fundación Alumnos 47. Printed Matter’s L.A. Art Book Fair. Los Angeles, USA.
2014
Neter Proyectos. Material Art Fair. CDMX, MX.
2012
Neter Proyectos. Art Platform – Los Angeles Art Fair. Los Angeles, USA.
2007
Galeria La Refaccionaria + Galería Proyectos Monclova. Zona Maco Art Fair. CDMX,
MX.
ACADEMIC STUDIES
2003 – 2008
BFA Visual Arts. Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado INBA / La
Esmeralda. CDMX, México.
RESIDENCIES
2025
Casa Wabi. Tokyo, Japan.2024
Pioneer Works. New York, USA.
Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramics Arts. Helena, Montana, USA.
Art Explora / Cité Internationale des Arts. Paris, France.
2023
Taller Noborigama. Aregua, Paraguay.
2021
Residencia Estudio 797. Guadalajara. Jalisco, MX.
2020
Cabra Casa Brasil. Guadalajara, Jalisco, MX.
Cerámica Suro. Residencia de producción. Guadalajara, MX.
2019
Laguna Blanca. Residencia de producción. Guadalajara, MX.
Cerámica Suro. Residencia de producción. Guadalajara, MX.
Cabra Casa Brasil. Guadalajara, MX.
Unlisted Projects Residency Program. Austin TX, USA.
2018
USSR. CDMX, MX.
Cuadro 22. Chur, Switzerland.
2016
Programa de Residencias Casa Wabi. Oaxaca, MX.
S.S. Gilroy. Los Angeles, USA.
GRANTS AND PRIZES
2014-2015
Jóvenes Creadores, FONCA Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. México.
2013
Grant Mexico-Québec (GTMQ) “Atelier de Création 2013”.
2009-2010
Jóvenes Creadores, FONCA Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. México.2006
Art Fest World Trade Center. Acquisition Prize.
OTHER
2015-2020
Founder and coordinator of the residency program DEDAZO in Carrillo Puerto,
Chiapas, MX.
2011-2014
Member of NETER Proyectos. CDMX, MX.
2011
Scenography design for the play Los Padres Terribles, Teatro El Galeón. CDMX, MX.
2010-2011
Founder, co-director and curator of LAC (Laboratorio de Artes de Chiapas),
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Art Lover’s Forum
Alejandro Garcia Contreras, the boundary-defying artist from Guadalajara, Mexico, has just opened an exhibition in Paris at Lefebvre & Fils, one of the city’s oldest and most distinguished galleries. The exhibition runs from September 10 through October 10, 2026, at 24 rue du Bac.
The gallery describes Alejandro’s practice as an ongoing experimentation and dialogue between materials and technical processes. His work moves effortlessly among painting, sculpture, photography, video and the graphic arts.
His list of accomplishments is a mile long—far too long for me to recite here. But visit DigiDame.com, where you can explore his remarkable career, along with photographs and videos of his work.
What fascinates me most is the world Alejandro creates. Lefebvre & Fils describes his work as an invitation to explore the divine and the evil, the magical, the erotic and the feminine—even the taboo dimensions of our own unconscious. These are not passive works of art. They challenge you, seduce you and occasionally unsettle you.
Alejandro’s art has received international recognition and has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, Canada and Japan.
In the U.S., his work has been shown by galleries including Swivel, Anat Ebgi , Friedman Benda and David Castillo, plus múltiple art fairs.
In Mexico, he has exhibited at major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Ex Colegio de San Ildefonso, the Ex Teresa Museum, the National Center for the Arts, the Chopo University Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey.
The big news is that approximately 30 of Alejandro’s sculptures will be shown at Plataforma, Guadalajara’s premier museum, the last week of January during the city’s art week and one week before the big art exhibitions, Zona Maco and Material in Mexico City.
I first met Alejandro six years ago in Guadalajara while traveling with Fountainhead Arts. I don’t consider myself an art aficionado in the traditional sense, but I do believe I have an instinct for recognizing a serious artist—someone with something urgent, original and deeply personal to express. I felt that immediately with Alejandro.
A few years later, Eliot and I bought our first Garcia Contreras sculpture from Graham Wilson of Swivel Gallery in New York. In many ways, that piece tells the story of our own appetite for daring art—art that refuses to behave.
There is so much energy in this sculpture that I sometimes feel as though I can actually hear it speaking to me. And the message is always the same:
Live life on your own terms.
There is something wonderfully reassuring about living with art that doesn’t merely decorate your home, but reflects who you are, challenges how you think, and—in our case—honors the choices you have made with your life.
And that is exactly what Alejandro Garcia Contreras’s art does for us
Listen to episode 64 of the Art Lovers Forum podcast here
https://www.artloversforum.com/e/episode_64_-_alejandro_garcia_contreras/
Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/art-lovers-forum-podcast/id1725034621
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5FkkeWv83Hs4ADm13ctTZi
Amazon Music – https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/77484212-60c5-4026-a96f-bd2d4ae955c6
Audible – https://www.audible.com/pd/Art-Lovers-Forum-Podcast-Podcast/B0CRR1XYLZ
iHeartRadio – https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1323-art-lovers-forum-podcast-141592278/
Contact:
Lois Whitman-Hess
