Modern Mexican Artists: Daniel Guzmán

Daniel Guzmán is an artist working primarily in drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation. His drawings have various influences, including popular culture, serial killers, sexualized women, literature, and music. Guzmán began drawing at the age of eight during a time in which his family was frequently moved house; he credits his art practice with easing the transitions.

He and Luis Felipe Ortega became close friends due to their shared interest in music and literature; the two artists got jobs together working as film technicians at a science museum, where they had access to film equipment. During this time Guzmán collaborated on two films with Ortega, which were later compiled with video works from the early 1990s by Abraham Cruzvillegas, and Damián Ortega, on the 1999 compilation project Sangre y pantimedias. However, Guzmán’s film work is primarily limited to this period, and he is primarily known for his drawings.

Guzmán participated in the pre-Temístocles exhibitions Aire fresco en el verano del amor (1988); Las manos del artista I (1991); In Situ (6 instalaciones) (1991); and Club Hípico La Sierra (10 instalaciones) (1991). With Ortega and other students whom he met at ENAP and in José Miguel González Casanova’s Taller de dibujo, Guzmán would become founding member of Temístocles 44. He exhibited in the opening exhibition Temístocles 44-I (Decoración para el hogar) (1993); the second exhibition, Temístocles 44-II Seis instalaciones y una exposición individual de Daniel Guzmán (1993), featured his drawings from the previous four years alongside new work by other artists. Guzmán’s drawings were also included in Luis Felipe Ortega’s exhibition text for the show, Transgresiones en serie (1993) (For the full text, see Appendix D). Guzmán also exhibited in Calma (1993) and Terror en la Montaña Rusa, Sensurround (1994). Guzmán was involved with Temístocles 44-affiliated publications from their start, including the magazine-turned-publishing house Moho (founded 1989); La Pus Moderna (1989-1996); El padrastro, o, El palacio de la vulgaridad (ca. 1991-1992); Alegría (1992-1993); the unpublished Khurti; (Des)equilibrio natural (1995-1996); Casper (1998-1999), and Fantoche (1999).

During Temístocles 44, Guzmán participated with fellow Temístocles 44 artists in Jonge Kunst Uit Mexico (1994); Acné o el nuevo contrato social ilustrado (1995). Post-Temístocles 44, Guzmán was part of Art & Idea gallery and began his long-term collaboration with galeria kurimanzutto which continues to represent him. He participated in the exhibitions Economía de mercado (1999); Cinco continentes y una ciudad: Segundo salón internacional de pintura (1999); Sala de artista (1999); Metropolis Mexica: Aspects de L'art contemporain au Mexique (2002); Entre líneas (2002); Eco (2005); Escultura Social: A New Generation of Art from Mexico City (2007); México Inside Out: Themes in Art Since 1990 (2013-2014); and Strange Currencies: Art & Action in Mexico City (2015). He has collaborated with Alias Publishing, directed by Damián Ortega.

In addition to making visual art, Guzmán is part of the band Los Pellejos (The Hides). While he is best known for his drawings, comics, and paintings made with a humorous yet genuine sensibility, Guzmán’s sculptures and installations share the same wide range of influences as his two-dimensional work.