Juan Alcázar Méndez (Mexican, 1955 - 2013) was born in 1955 in Oaxaca, Mexico. He attended the School of Fine Arts at the University of Benito Juárez in Oaxaca in 1968 where he later taught. He also studied printmaking with Fernando Vilchis and Leticia Tarragó in 1972, and mixography and lithography at the Mexican Graphics Workshop of Mexico City in 1978. He was a central figure for arts and culture in Oaxaca, not only as an artist but as an advocate of arts institutions. Alcázar was a founder and teacher at the Rufino Tamayo Workshop for the Visual Arts (Taller de Arts Plásticas Rufino Tamayo, TRT) in 1974. He also founded the Free Graphics Workshop of Oaxaca (Taller Libre de Gráfica Oaxaqueña) and founded and directed the Museum of Oaxaca Painters (Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños, MUPO). He participated in the creation of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Oaxaca (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, MACO) with Francisco Toledo. Alcázar passed away in 2013.

"Influenced by indigenous culture, the spirits of the nahual, folk art, and magical realism, he uses layered compositions, texture, and pattern to tell a vast story within a single image. His work often features empowered women, unencumbered and entangled with bulls, reptiles, and crustaceans in affection and in battle."
- Davidson Galleries

Read more from Juan Alcázar Méndez's Artist Feature here.