Rocio Boliver

Happy Birthday Rocio Boliver!

Mexican performance artist Rocio Boliver was born in 1956, in Mexico City. She studied dance and philosophy before beginning her eccentric performance art career. Boliver also attended the Tisch School for the Arts, New York. She is a member of the Mexican Goth art scene and is considered an underground cultural icon. Her work is focused primarily on sexual repression of Mexican women. She has presented at many alternative venues including festivals, raves and activist meetings as well as museums, galleries and universities.

Boliver has written a book and magazine articles. Her work has been performed all over the world and she has won several awards. She teaches performance art in Lisbon, New York, Mexico City and Barcelona.

Luis Fernando Allende Arenas

Happy Birthday Luis Fernando Allende Arenas!

Fernando Allende was born November 10, 1952, in Mexico City. His father was Mexican, his mother Cuban. Allende began his career in the arts singing at age seven. He then turned to acting in television: soap operas, variety shows (star search) series and movies. He has traveled extensively abroad and lived in Mexico, the US and now in Puerto Rico. He refreshed his career in 2001 by adding painting to his repertoire.

Maris Bustamante

Happy Birthday Maris Bustamante!

Maris Bustamante was born on November 10, 1949, in Mexico City. She attended La Esmeralda before becoming a conceptual artists, creating hundreds of "happenings", installations and productions.

She founded, along with Monica Mayer (see May 17 post) the first feminist art collective, Polvo de Gallina Negra, in 1983. In one particular project, she and Mayer became pregnant at the same time to  enable them to experience "the conditions of  pregnancy and motherhood in Mexico.

German Venegas

Happy Birthday German Venegas!

Born May 2, 1959 (I missed his birthday!) German Venegas was from Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla. He studied at La Esmeralda and became a painter and sculptor. He worked in wood carving early on, recognized as one of the finest of his time. Later he focused on painting and linked his interest in Buddism with his art. Central themes in his work were life and death, religious icons, and deities.

His work has been exhibited in Mexico and abroad and has been included in several important collections. He has been awarded many distinctions.

Rafael Lozano Hemmer

Happy Birthday Rafael Lozano Hemmer!

Born in Mexico City in 1967, Rafael Lozano Hemmer blends performance with interactive art for a unique, contemporary style. His father was a night club owner in Mexico City. Although Hemmer was first interested in science, he turned to creative arts. He earned his degree from Concordia College in Montreal, Canada. His science background has definitely influenced his work.

Hemmer is well known for his technical electronic, interactive installations and has projects all over the world. In his work he has used projectors, cell phone interfaces, real time computer graphics,  internet links, ultrasonic sensors and robotics. One project titled "Vectorial Elevation" has been repeated all over the world but first initiated in Mexico City. Participants used Internet to project search lights all over the central square in various cities.

Hemmer currently splits his time between Montreal, Canada and Madrid, Spain. He has an numerous awards for his innovative work.

Bertha Kolteniuk

Happy Birthday Bertha  Kolteniuk!

The artist Bertha Kolteniuk was born in 1958, in Mexico City. After studying at La Esmeralda and the National Autonomous University,  she worked in the workshop of Gilberto Aceves Navarro. In 2001, Kolteniuk traveled to Washington D. C. to study digital imaging at Corcoran College of Art. 

Her work with plaster on wood panels has explored sculptural relief, collage, with stone and fabric elements. She has been fascinated with white, white on white as well as the juxtaposition of color next to the white areas. White has also been equated with snow in some of her work.

Kolteniuk has exhibited her work in Mexico and the US. She has participated in group shows in Europe, Mexico and the US. She currently lives in the US.

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Magali Lara

Happy Birthday Magali Lara!

Contemporary artist Magali Lara was born in Mexico City, on November 5, 1956. She studied at the National School of Visual Arts. She works in cartooning, ceramics, painting and animation. Feminism and reflections on being a woman in contemporary society seem to be favored themes of Lara.

She has curated exhibits and also experimented with electronic media in her art pursuits. Her work has been exhibited at various museums in Mexico as well as the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.