Fall 2014 Talks: Abraham Cruzvillegas

Abraham Cruzvillegas is one of the most important conceptual artists of his generation to come from the vibrant art scene in Mexico City. For his Public Art Fund talk, Cruzvillegas will speak on his ten-year body of work titled Autoconstrucción, or “self-building.” He associates autoconstrucción with an improvised approach to domestic architecture that is deeply informed by the development of his childhood neighborhood, Pedragales de Coyoacan in the south of Mexico City. Built beyond the boundaries of the urban plan, on a hillside of volcanic rock, the self-made neighborhood required an approach to building, materials, and community solidarity that has served as both a metaphor and a methodology for Cruzvillegas’ ongoing approach to artmaking. As such, his diverse practice includes sculpture, installation, film, and performance works that utilize found objects, assemblage, and improvisation to address subjects such as survival economics, labor, and hybridity. For Cruzvillegas, autoconstrucción “is a process full of human warmth and solidarity among neighbors and relatives. It is important not just as collaboration, as shared capital, but also as an enriching learning for everyone who is part of a community, helping them to understand their own circumstances.”

he Public Art Fund Talks at The New School are organized by the Public Art Fund in collaboration with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.

This program is made possible in part by Con Edison and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Abraham Cruzvillegas (b. 1968, Mexico City) lives and works in Mexico City. Solo exhibitions of Cruzvillegas’ work have been presented in institutions worldwide, including the Fundacion/Coleccion Jumex, Mexico City (2014); Haus der Kunst, Munich, (2014); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2013); Modern Art Oxford, United Kingdom (2011); The New Museum, New York (2011); and the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco (2009). He has also been included in numerous biennials, including the Fiftieth Venice Biennale (2003), Istanbul Biennial (2011), Documenta 13 (2012), and the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012). He is a member of The International Taoist TaiChi Society, studied Pedagogy at the National University of Mexico, and was a member of Gabriel Orozco’s workshop from 1987 to 1991. He participated in artist-run projects Temístocles 44 and La Panadería and founded La Galería de Comercio in 2010. Cruz Villeagas is represented by Kurimanzutto in Mexico City, Regen Projects in Los Angeles, and Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris.