gabriel orozco is a mexican artist. he studied at the escuela nacional de artes plásticas between 1981 and 1984 and at the circulo de bellas artes in madrid between 1986 and 1987. orozco gained his reputation in the early 1990s with his exploration of drawing, photography, sculpture and installation. in 1998 francesco bonami called him "one of the most influential artists of this decade, and probably the next one too." within the past fifteen years orozco has also created work in the medium of painting.
an avid world traveler, orozco, his wife maria gutierrez, and their son simón, divide their time between paris, new york and mexico city.
orozco was born in 1962 in veracruz, mexico to cristina fèlix romandía and mario orozco rivera, a mural painter and art professor at the universidad veracruzana. when orozco was six, the family relocated to the san àngel neighborhood of mexico city so that his father could work with artist david alfaro siquieros on various mural commissions. his father took him along to museum exhibitions and to work with him, where orozco overheard many conversations on art and politics.
orozco attended the escuela nacional de artes plásticas between 1981 and 1984, but found it to be a conservative program of study; in 1986 he moved to madrid and enrolled at the circulo de bellas artes. here his instructors introduced him to a broad range of post-war artists working in non-traditional formats. he has stated of his time in spain,
"what's important is to be confronted deeply with another culture. and also to feel that i am the other not the resident. that i am the immigrant. i was displaced and in a country where the relationship with latin america is conflicted. i came from a background that was very progressive. and then to travel to spain and confront a very conservative society that also wanted to be very avant-garde in the 1980s, but treated me as an immigrant, was shocking. that feeling of vulnerability was really important for developing my work. i think a lot of my work has to do with that kind of exposure, to expose vulnerability and make that your strength."
in 1987 orozco returned from his studies in madrid to mexico city where he formed weekly meetings with a group of other artists including damián ortega, gabriel kuri, abraham cruzvillegas and dr. lakra. this group met once a week for five years and over time the artist’s home became a place where many artistic and cultural projects took shape.
orozco’s nomadic way of living began to strongly inform his work around this time, and he took much inspiration from exploring the streets. his early practice was intended to break away from the mainstream work of the 1980s, which often incorporated huge studios with many assistants and elaborate techniques of production and distribution. in contrast, orozco has always worked alone or with one or two other assistants. his work revolves around many repeated themes and techniques that incorporate real life and common objects. the exploration of his chosen materials allows the audience's imagination to explore the creative associations between oft-ignored objects in today's world.
"for him , the decentralization of the manufacturing practice mirrors a rich heterogeneity of object and material. there is no way to identify a work by orozco in terms of physical product. instead it must be discerned through leitmotifs and strategies that constantly recur, but in always mutating forms and configurations." – ann temkin
“what is most important is not so much what people see in the gallery or the museum, but what people see after looking at these things, how they confront reality again”.- gabriel orozco from an interview with benjamin h. d. buchloh
gabriel orozco married maria gutierrez on august 2, 1994, at city hall in new york. they have one son, simόn, born in november 2004. orozco lives and works in new york, mexico and france.
gabriel orozco is represented by the marian goodman gallery in new york, galerie chantal crousel in paris, and galeria kurimanzutto in mexico city.
important solo exhibitions have included his mid-career retrospective which began in december 2009 at the museum of modern art in new york and traveled to the kunstmuseum basel, the centre pompidou, paris, and ended at the tate modern, london, in may 2011. other recent solo exhibitions include asterisms, deutsche guggenheim (2012) and the guggenheim, new york (2012), exhibitions at the museo del palacio de bellas artes, mexico city (2006); the museum ludwig, cologne (2006), palacio de cristal, the museo nacional centre de arte reina sofia, madrid, (2005), the hirshhorn museum, washington d.c. (2004), and the serpentine gallery, london (2004).
orozco participated in the venice biennale in 1993, 2003, and 2005, the whitney biennial (1995 and 1997), as well as documenta x (1997) and documenta xi (2002). he has received numerous awards, including the seccio espacios alternativos prize at the salon nacional de artes plasticas in mexico city (1987), a daad artist-in-residence grant in berlin (1995), and the german blue orange prize (2006).

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