Maruch Méndez

K’atixtik, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico, 1957.

An artist of profound nature, his works are a connection between the spiritual and material, an evocation of a hyper-imaginary world, where the relationship between man and nature is intertwined.

From a young age, Maruch began his artistic practice by returning to terracotta, creating utilitarian objects and traditional artefacts. However, thanks to the mythical and historical wisdom from her ancestors, she began to perfect a personalized style of great simplicity and relevance.

“In the clay, I found a way to be heard without the need to speak Spanish, in it I can broadcast my song, my gestures, my laughter, my voice, and the history of my community.” Maruch Mendez

Aware of finding transcendental forms of intercultural visual communication, she appropriated new means of creation, such as performance, installation and acrylic painting. Her installations are a composition of elements between stones, leaves and other natural elements that represent the symbiotic elements of his community environment, her performances between prayer and singing. Her painting is a means of liberation and encounter of colorful worlds of narrative and the deep sensitivity of Chamula’s worldview.

Her career began at Taller Leñateros, working with the poet Ámbar Past and the women’s collective, manufacturing artists’ books.

She joined the group of contemporary Mayan and Zoque artists at Galería MUY in 2015, since then she has participated in multidisciplinary projects, always standing out as a born teacher of her practice and an empowered and motivating woman for Mayan and Zoque artists.

Exhibitions

• Ja’chka’itik k’usi smelol li ch’ul mutetike, (This is how we understand sacred messenger birds), solo exhibition, Galería MUY, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2023.
• Skuxlejal antzetik (Life of women), group exhibition, Galería MUY, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2022.
• Spatel Nopvenetik (Shaping ideas), group exhibition, Galería MUY, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2022.
• Impacts on our art, solo exhibition, Galería MUY, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2021.
• Outsider Art Fair, XVIII virtual exhibition, New York City, US, 2021.
• Mayan and Zoque interpretations of the (In)visible pandemic, virtual exhibition, Galería MUY, 2020.
• Spoxil Ch’ulelal (Medicine of the soul), multidisciplinary exhibition, Centro Médico Siglo XXI, Mexico City, 2019.
• The water holes, Museo Universitario del Chopo, Mexico City, 2019.
• Art with me, multidisciplinary exhibition, Tulum, Quintana Roo, 2019.
• Jna’tik Jnatik (We miss our home), group exhibition, Corpus Christi, Mexico City, 2017.
• Science and spirituality in Mayan plastic arts, multidisciplinary exhibition, Galería MUY, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2017.
• Women of clay, exhibition with Feliciana Ramírez, Galería MUY, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2015.