Ricardo Mazal

b. 1950, Mexico

Ricardo Mazal explores themes of life, death, transformation, and regeneration through a multidisciplinary approach to painting that combines photography and digital technology.  In 2004 he embarked on a trilogy examining the sacred burial rituals of three cultures, continents, and time periods.  He began at the Mayan tomb of The Red Queen in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, then traveled to the Peace Forest cemetery in Odenwald, Germany, and finally to the sky burials of Mount Kailash in western Tibet. Mazal works from the documentation of his travels, using photography as a bridge that links reality to abstraction.

Ricardo Mazal was born in Mexico City in 1950. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America, including ten individual museum exhibitions in the last several years.  His work is included in the public collections of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art; Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City; Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguerez in Zacatecas, Mexico; Maeght Foundation in Paris; and Deutsche Bank in New York and Germany. He currently lives and works in both Santa Fe, New Mexico, and New York City.

AWARDS

2002 Creador Artistico, Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA) 2002, Mexico
1998 Creador Artistico, Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA) 1998, Mexico
1991 Pollock Krassner Foundation, New York, NY

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2017 Violeta, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, Mexico
2017 Violet, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore
2017 New Work, Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016 Violet, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Butan Abstracto, Museo Estacion Indianilla, Mexico City, Mexico (catalogue)
2015 New Paintings, Odon Wagner Gallery, Toronto, Canada (catalogue)
2015 New Paintings, Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA (catalogue)
2014 Bhutan Abstractions, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2014 Kailash Black Mountain, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore
2014 Kailash Black Mountain, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2013 New Paintings, Odon Wagner Gallery, Toronto, Canada (catalog)
2013 The Kora Dialogues, Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA (catalog)
2012 Kailash, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, Mexico. (Catalog)
2012 Ricardo Mazal Select Works, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
2011 New Works, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.
2011 Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2010 KORA, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2010 KORA, Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2010 Elins Eagle-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010 Ricardo Mazal 1994-2009, Museo Abstracto Manuel Felguerez, Zacatecas, ZC, Mexico
2010 Sundaram, Tagore Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Ricardo Mazal 1994-2009, Museum of Art, Queretaro, Queretaro, QRO, Mexico
2009 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2008 Ricardo Mazal Odenwald 1152, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2008 Ricardo Mazal Odenwald 1152, Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC
2008 Dwight Hackett Projects, Santa Fe, NM
2008 Elins Eagle-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Mas Art Moderno y Contemporáneo, Barcelona, Spain
2007 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
2007 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canáda
2006 Ricardo Mazal, La Tumba de la Reina Roja: From Reality to Abstraction, Centro de las Artes, Pinacoteca, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2006 Ricardo Mazal, La Tumba de la Reina Roja: From Reality to Abstraction, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2006 Ricardo Mazal, Works 1994 – 2006, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico
2006 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
2006 New Works, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2005 Ricardo Mazal, La Tumba de la Reina Roja: From Reality to Abstraction, Museo
2005 Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Mexico
2005 From Reality to Abstraction, Elins Eagle-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canáda
2005 Chiaroscuro Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2004 Ricardo Mazal, La Tumba de la Reina Roja: From Reality to Abstraction, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM
2004 Ricardo Mazal, Paintings and Monotypes from the series La Tumba de la Reina Roja, Chiaroscuro Gallery. Santa Fe, NM
2004 Ricardo Mazal, Obra Reciente, Mas Art Moderno y Contemporáneo, Barcelona, Spain Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2004 Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
2003 Ricardo Mazal, New Paintings, Elins and Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2003 Ricardo Mazal, New Monotypes, Aurobora Press, San Francisco, CA
2002 Ricardo Mazal, Paintings from The Center for Contemporary Arts, Galería Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2002 Ricardo Mazal, New Paintings and Monotypes, Ricardo Mazal, Gary Mankus
2002 Collaborative Photography, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002 New Paintings by Ricardo Mazal, The Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Ricardo Mazal, April 15, New Paintings and Works on Paper, Galería Ramis Barquet, New York, NY
2001 Ricardo Mazal, Galerie 89, Aarwangen, Switzerland
2001 Ricardo Mazal, New Paintings, Photographs and Drawings, Rule Gallery, Denver, CO
2001 Ricardo Mazal, Pintura, Fotografía, Dibujo, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico
2001 New Monotypes, Aurobora Press, San Francisco, CA
2000 Ricardo Mazal, Obras,1991-2000, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2000 Recent Paintings, Galería Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2000 Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2000 Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
1999 Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery, Denver, CO
1999 Erickson & Elins/Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
1999 New Monotypes, Aurobora Press, San Francisco, CA
1999 The E – Series, Ramis Barquet Gallery, New York, NY
1999 Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1998 Ricardo Mazal, The Yellow Circle & Eve, Galería Maeght, Barcelona, Spain
1997 Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1997 Yellow Circle Series, Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery, Denver, CO
1997 Vail-Giesler Contemporary Art, Des Moines, IA
1996 Ricardo Mazal, Pintura y Fotografía, Galería Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
1994 Galería Maeght, Barcelona, Spain
1992 Ricardo Mazal, Pinturas, Dibujos, Grabados, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico
1990 Scott Alan Gallery, New York, NY
1990 Ricardo Mazal, Pinturas, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City
1990 Ricardo Mazal, Pinturas, Galería Arte Actual Mexicano, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
1989 Ricardo Mazal, Scott Alan Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Huellas del Tiempo, Ricardo Mazal, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mexico
1988 Huellas del Tiempo, Ricardo Mazal, Galería Arte Actual Mexicano, Monterrey, NL, Mexico

1988 Galería Nomen, Barcelona, Spain
1988 Galería Carl Van Der Voort, Ibiza, Spain

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015 Frontiers Reimagined, Venice Biennial, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, Italy
2014 Messico Circa 2000, Scuderie del Casello di Miramare Trieste, Italy
2013 Natural Selection, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2013 Natural Selection, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2012 Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2011 Spectrum: East West Beyond, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China.
2011 Summer Group Show, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY.
2011 Continuum, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China.
2011 Convergence, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Beverley Hills, CA.
2010 22/22 Artistas Mexicanos, Museum of Art, Queretaro, Queretaro, QRO, Mexico. (Catalog)
2010 New Creative Constructs, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York NY.
2010 Entre Medios: Contemporary Latin American Art, Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canáda
2009 Here and Now, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
2009 Summer Group Show, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Hong Kong, China
2008 Pushing Paint Around, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ.
2007 3 Americas: Robert Kelly, Ricardo Mazal, Daniel Senise, Galeria Emma Molina, Monterrey, NL, México
2007 An Eclectic Eye: Selections From the Dan Leach Collection, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2006 De la Coleción, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico
2005 Retrospective / Prospective, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2005 Espejos: Artistas contemporaneos de Mexico en Estados Unidos, Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC
2005 Transversal: Richard Serra, Jaime Brunson, Tony Coulter, Gary Komarin, Ricardo Mazal, Jae Ko, Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
2004 Ray Smith, Fernanda Brunet, Sylvia Fernandez, Ricardo Mazal y Victor Rodríguez, Galería Lucía de la Puente, Lima, Peru
2003 Paper, Ramis Barquet Gallery, New York, NY
2003 11/11: Eleven Painters, Eleven Views of Abstraction, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2003 Abstract Art, New Mexico Artist Series, Anderson Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2003 Siglo XX: Grandes Maestros Mexicanos  (The Twentieth Century: Great Mexican Masters), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Monterrey, NL, Mexico
2003 Paint Junkies, Michael Martin Galleries, San Francisco, CA
2002 Arte de América Latina, Galería Lucía de la Puente, Lima, Peru
2002 Wrapped, Evo Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002 Beau Geste: Abstract Paintings in Torroella di Montgrí, Michael Dunev Art Projects, Torroella de Montgrí, Girona, Spain
2002 Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
2001 Tendencias, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico
2001 Between the Lines, Bushlen-Mowatt Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
2001 Between Worlds: Jewish Artists of Latin America, Mizel Arts Center, Denver, CO
2001 FOUR: Selected Works by Lynda Karshan/ Ricardo Mazal/ Rex Ray/ Sophie Smallhorn, Michael Martin Galleries, San Francisco, CA
2001 Abstracciones, Traveling exhibition in Mexico organized by the Mexican Ministry of Culture
2000 Mexico/ New York: A Vital Dialogue, The Mexican Cultural Institute, New York, NY
2000 Paisaje Urbano, Galería Enrique Guerrero, Mexico City, Mexico
1999 Inapropiadamente Dibujo, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, Mexico
1999 Today and Everyday, Ramis Barquet Gallery, New York, NY
1999 The Conscious Line, Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID
1999 Introductions & Dialogue, Michael Martin Galleries, San Francisco, CA
1998 4th Salon de Arte Bancomer, Mexico City, Mexico
1998 Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1997 Laura Anderson Barbata, Linda Matalon, Ricardo Mazal: Embodied Abstraction, Americas Society Art Gallery, New York, NY
1997 Painting Group Exhibition, Megan Fox Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1997 Drawings and Photographs, Megan Fox Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1997 Premio MARCO (Third MARCO Prize exhibition), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, NL, Mexico
1997 Red, Robin Rule Gallery, Denver, CO
1997 Collective: Paintings on Cloth and Paper, Ricardo Mazal, Bob Nugent, Gustavo Ramos Rivera, Michael Dunev Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996 Modern Miniatures: The Redefining of the Small, Brewster Gallery, New York, NY
1996 Premio MARCO 1996 (MARCO Prize exhibition), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, NL, Mexico
1995 Premio MARCO 1995 (MARCO Prize exhibition), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, NL, Mexico
1995 Le Noir est un Coleur, Galería Maeght, Madrid, Spain
1994 Pinturerías: el Artel Taurino, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico, City; traveling exhibition in Mexico, Spain, and the United States
1993 The Inaugural Show, The Painting Center, New York, NY
1992 Abstractus, Scott Alan Gallery, New York, NY
1991 En el Umbral del Siglo XXI, Galería Maeght, Barcelona, Spain
1991 Galería Carl Van Der Voort, Ibiza, Spain
1990 Parallel Project: New Moments in Mexican Painting, New York, NY
1989 Pintura Mexicana de Hoy, Tradición e Inovación, Centro Cultural Alfa and Galería Arte Actual Mexicano, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
1988 Galería Nomen, Barcelona, Spain
1988 Galería Carl Van Der Voort, Ibiza, Spain
1987 Galería Angel Romero, Madrid, Spain
1987 Tom Maddock Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
1987 Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain

AWARDS

2010 Creador Artistico, Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA) 2002, Mexico.
2002 Creador Artistico, Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA) 2002, Mexico.
1998 Creador Artistico, Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (FONCA) 1998, Mexico.
1991 Pollock Krassner Foundation, New York.

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Centro de las Artes, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
Cirque du Soleil, Montreal, QC, Canada.
MACO-UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico.
Museo de Arte Moderno (MAM), Mexico City, Mexico.
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
Maeght Foundation, Paris, France.
Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez, Zacatecas, Mexico.
Museo del Arzobispado, Mexico City, Mexico.
Banco de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
Deutsche Bank, New York, NY USA and Germany.
CEMEX, Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, New York, NY, USA.
Private Collections in the USA, Mexico, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Japan and Korea.

Visual Art Source: Editorial Features
Ricardo Mazal, a Mexican painter now living in New York and Santa Fe, might be said to absorb the contradictory impulses of his environs: monochrome abstraction and a feeling for landscape. He combines photographic studies of sites that he has visited, many of them endowed with spiritual meaning, brought together through his love of the painting process and its materials.

Trend Magazine: Long Day’s Journey into Light
If you walk through fear, ecstacy may be on the other side. Or enlightenment. It’s the sort of idea that Mexican abstract painter Ricardo Mazal, a resident of Santa Fe, would grin at with his customary – and infections – delight.

Art Toronto: Bhutan Abstractions – Ricardo Mazal
A prayer is a powerful cleansing and unifying emotion. Quintessential to Bhutan, prayer flags are as much a work of art as an act of devotion. Through his paintings, Ricardo Mazal creates a connection of his personal narrative to this living form of Bhutanese culture.

Artsy: Sundaram Tagore’s “World Art” Fills a Venetian Palazzo
An official collateral exhibition of the Biennale, “Frontiers Reimagined” represents 25 countries through 44 artists and 65 works – al within the 16th-century Museum de Palazzo Grimani.

Architectural Digest: Esencia, Espiritu y Color