José Luis Cuevas (Mexico City 1934-2017). Mexican painter, draftsman, writer, engraver, sculptor and illustrator. His artistic training is practically self-taught. He has been one of the main figures of the “generation of rupture” and one of the most outstanding representatives of neo-figurativism. Trough the drawing line, he bares the souls of his characters portraying the magnificence of human degradation. His initial intention was to show the anguish and loneliness of man, using the scenes he found in hospitals and brothels. Despite the recurrence of the themes of Cuevas, it can be said that in his work there are different variants starring deformed beings and beautiful images of almost monstrous characters.
Among his numerous solo and group exhibitions, the ones made in Washington DC (1954), Paris (1955) and New York (1957) stand out. He has obtained, among others, the following recognitions: First International Drawing Prize of the Biennial of Sao Paulo (1959); First International Engraving Prize of the I Triennial of New Delhi (1968); National Fine Arts Prize of Mexico (1981) and International Prize of the Engraving World Council, San Francisco (1984). He received the Order of the Knight of Arts and Letters of the French Republic (1991) and was named City Artist by the Government of Mexico City, occasion in which the museum that bears his name was also inaugurated (1992).
