Héctor Velázquez

b. 1965, Mexico City, Mexico

Héctor Velázquez’s work weaves itself into the exploration of the body as a connector to our inner self and to the world that surrounds us. Through deeply intimate representations of the body, he surveys each of the senses, explores genealogical ties and maps the links between our physical and spiritual existence.

Trademark of the artist has been his use of intensely colourful yarn to cover sculptures that have been moulded from his own or others’ bodies. This excruciatingly detailed technique renders not only visually striking works but engages with the viewers emotions directly. The softness of the yarn that dresses his sculptures demands from us to feel more than to see. An immediate urge to touch, to wonder, to explore , to connect, to empathise, is the result of the artist’s deeply emotional commitment to his works. The use of self portraits and imagery of those close to him resonates immediately as universal questions of self identity and filial relationships are shared without cultural borders. In his most recent organic works, Héctor is exploring more abstract forms and incorporating metals such as silver and bronze, a less tangible connection between ourselves and nature.

Héctor studied at the National School of Fine Arts of Mexico’s National University , the Berlin University of the Arts and the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart in Germany. He has received several grants and honours, including the Baden Wurtemberg State Grant in Germany and the National Foundation for Culture and the Arts in Mexico- His works are part of public and privatecollections, including the National Bank of Mexico and the National University Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico. Since his first solo show in Germany in 1991. Héctor has exhibited and participated in international fairs in Mexico and Germany as well as Argentina, France, Spain, Switzerland and the USA. After living in Berlin for many years, Héctor relocated to Mexico City where he lives and works.

In 2012, Puerta Roja exhibited Unfolding Bodies, a retrospective of more than 15 years of works of the artist for his first exhibition in Asia and featured him during Art Taipei’s 20th Anniversary.