CISCO JIMÉNEZ (MEXICO)

Cisco Jimenez, Untitled, 2002 Type C print 80 x 120 cm Born in 1969, Cisco Jiménez has been exhibiting in Mexico, Canada, United States and Europe since the early 90s. He works and lives in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 2001 he was invited to collaborate with Jimmie Durham at the 49th Venice Biennial. Cisco Jiménez is represented by Galeria OMR in Mexico.    Artistic Approach Cisco Jimenez, Untitled, 2002 Type C print 80 x 120 cm Text from Cisco Jiménez - Diagrama del Pene, Galeria Canvas, Sept. 2001, by Joao Sousa Cardoso, Porto, August 2001, translated from Spanish by José Paulo Moura Cisco Jiménez started as a political cartoonist in the Mexican press before going on to study art in Mexico and at the Art Students League of New York. His drawing-paintings maintain the emblematic and urged directness of a mass medium. On his collages, round intestine-like shapes are convoluted with exaggerated versions of African male or female sculptures. Most of Jiménez's work speaks of sexual aggression and fear.    Project for the Biennale Cisco Jiménez, Untitled, 2002 Six photos, C - prints 80 x 120 cm each Courtesy of the artist and Galeria OMR, Mexico Cisco Jiménez, Untitled, 2002 Courtesy of the artist and Galeria OMR, Mexico Statement for the 3rd Biennale de Montréal by Cisco Jimenez "Different views are always underlying my artistic production. My work asks for numerous readings, from pragmatic to subjective ones. Therefore this photographical series of stuffed turtles gathers weird and obscure sides of human being and questions our right to recognize the latter and to exploit them. Stuffed turtles belong to Mexican handicraft even if the "carret", great carnivorous turtle living in warm waters, are endangered species. I wanted to dress those turtles with a pathetic human appearance, so I put new heads on them such as the ones the Ecuador Indian make. They produce fake reduced heads with goatskin that look like human ones, stunningly resembling even though they are caricatures. Collectors up to the beginning of the 20th century have hunted these heads. One day in my Cuernavaca studio, I did put one of these stuffed head done by Ecuadorian Indian on one of my stuffed turtle; the result was astonishing, and the figure was so grotesque that it was as if the head and the turtle were coming back to life. This inspired me for this series of photographs, where we see these turtles doing vital acts such as kissing, looking at oneself in the mirror or to cool off in front of a fan. To me, those stuffed turtles, that at one point were used as decorations in middle class lounges, just like those Ecuadorian heads that we find as souvenir key holders in South American markets, are the proof of that weird and touching side of human beings, and that we find everywhere in our world under various forms." (Translation from French : CIAC)    Works Shown at the 3rd Biennale de Montréal Cisco Jiménez, Untitled, 2002 1. Cisco Jiménez, Untitled, 2002 Six photos, C - prints 80 x 120 cm each Courtesy of the artist and Galeria OMR, Mexico    Solo Exhibitions (selection) 2001 Diagrame del Pene, Galeria Canvas, Porto, Portugual (cat.) Fatal, Figurative Attractions: or How to Achieve Enlightment, Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, USA 2000 Galeria Jacob Karpio, San Jose, Costa Rica Chicken Pox, Death and Missing Her, Galeria Fucares, Madrid, Spain (cat.) FIAC 2000, Solo Shows, Galeria OMR, Paris, France    Group Exhibitions (selection) 2002 La 3e Biennale de Montréal - 2002, Montréal (Québec), Canada 2001 49th Venice Biennale, in collaboration with Jimmie Durham for the project Markers, Venice, Italy Cuanto tiempo vas a seguir pagando de mas?, Galeria Fucares, Almagro, Spain El poder de la humanidad, Pendullum Gallery, Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada Belleuve Museum, Seattle and the Museum of Latinoamerican Art, California, USA Secreciones, Galeria Jacob Karpio, San Jose, Costa Rica 2000 La Coleccion de la Fundacion Cultural Televisa, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Mexico Arts and Eats, Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, Texas, USA Sabrosa, Jardin Borda, Cuernavaca, Mexico Apuntes para una coleccion del siglo XXI, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico, Mexico Benjamin Guierrero, Cisco Jimenez, slide show, Robert Brady Museum, Cuernavaca, Mexico Mexican Contemporary Art, Ludwig Museum, Budapeste, Hungary; and the art gallery of the mexicain embassy in Berlin, Germany Gabinete de Papel IV, Galerie Fucares, Almagro, Spain    Publications Galeria Fucares, « Cisco Jimenez - Chicken pox, death and missing her », Madrid, 2000 MOURA, Jose Paulo, Cisco Jimenez « Diagrama del Pene », Porto, Portugual, Galeria Canvas, 2001    Cisco Jiménez on the Web  Galeria OMR  La Vitrina  ArtPace

ARTISTS VISUAL ARTS   David Blatherwick   Cai Guo-Qiang   Casagrande      & Rintala   Colette   Marcel Dzama   Graham Gillmore   Betty Goodwin   Angela Grauerholz   Daniel Guzman   Mathew Hale   Anton Henning   Cisco Jiménez   Koganezawa      Takehito   Lux Lindner   Corinne Marchetti   Jorge Luis Marrero   François Morelli   Claudia & Julia Müller   Alain Paiement   Bruno Peinado   Ed Pien   Jean-François Prost   John Scott   Kiki Smith   Siphay Southidara   Barthélémy Toguo   Torolab (Raúl &      Marcela Cárdenas)   Pablo Vargas-Lugo   Vedovamazzei   (S. Scala & S. Crispino)   Jean-Luc Verna   Fabien Verschaere LIGHT INSTALLATION   Michel Iorio PERFORMANCE   Cees Krijnen