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abraham cruzvillegas

abraham cruzvillegas

abraham cruzvillegas

1968, Mexico City

Abraham Cruzvillegas' artistic process is deeply influenced by his surroundings. Instead of being defined by a particular medium, many of his projects connect through the idea of autoconstrucción: a concept that draws from the ingenious, precarious, and collaborative building tactics implemented by the people living in Colonia Ajusco, his childhood neighborhood in Mexico City. Cruzvillegas adopts an approach based on inventive improvisation and instability, presenting change as a permanent state, emerging from the chaotic and fragmentary nature of life. The evolving notion of autoconstrucción has, in turn, generated explorations into similar concepts, such as autodestrucción and autoconfusión. These inquiries have led the artist not only to explore his own origins, but to collaborate with family and friends in a very personal form of research, resulting in a constant process of learning: about materials, landscape, people, and himself.

Through various media, including sculpture, painting, drawing, installation, and video, Cruzvillegas reveals a close and constant engagement with the material world—immersing himself in the ongoing construction and transformation of personal and collective identities. His sculptures challenge prevailing conceptions of art making by using a wide range of collected objects, while his paintings and drawings depict subjects with a strong sense of humor, instilled by his early training as a political cartoonist. Parallel to his artistic production, Cruzvillegas has cultivated writing as an investigative tool of self-analysis that merges history, criticism, and fiction. His lyrics and texts about art, politics, and culture constitute a significant element of his practice.

Cruzvillegas studied Pedagogy from 1986 to 1990 at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City, while simultaneously attending Gabriel Orozco’s workshop, Taller de los viernes. In 2012, he was the 5th winner of the Yanghyun Prize and received the Prix Altadis d'arts plastiques in 2006.

Lives and works in Mexico City.

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
autorretrato ciego brindando con vino espumoso natural biodinámico al tiempo de recordar cómo hacer que cruja de una mordida una enchiladita potosina, en la única cantina de ahualulco donde sirven mezcal ipiña, a punto de llorar, escuchando a las hermanas pulido cantando ‘flor de canela’, tratando de terminar de leer ‘queer ancient ways’, de zairong xiang, un ser humano, 2019

gold acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

installed: 95.67 x 281.89 x .79 in.

variable dimensions (installation of 319 pieces)

autorretrato ciego brindando con vino espumoso natural biodinámico al tiempo de recordar cómo hacer que cruja de una mordida una enchiladita potosina, en la única cantina de ahualulco donde sirven mezcal ipiña, a punto de llorar, escuchando a las hermanas pulido cantando ‘flor de canela’, tratando de terminar de leer ‘queer ancient ways’, de zairong xiang, un ser humano, 2019

gold acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

installed: 95.67 x 281.89 x .79 in.

variable dimensions (installation of 319 pieces)

blind self portrait listening to the tunes of 'la josefinita' while I remember sergio gonzález rodríguez telling me to fear nothing but my own tears, crying about what you have no more and can't get back, after eating some dry calamari roasted over a nice clay grill in a fancy restaurant, sipping little glasses of cold rice wine, pretending to write again all i'm kind of memorizing before typing down, but instead reading and reading again about a building some architects want to demolish, 2017

blue acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 762 pieces)

200.79 x 460.63 in. aprox. installed

blind self portrait listening to the tunes of 'la josefinita' while I remember sergio gonzález rodríguez telling me to fear nothing but my own tears, crying about what you have no more and can't get back, after eating some dry calamari roasted over a nice clay grill in a fancy restaurant, sipping little glasses of cold rice wine, pretending to write again all i'm kind of memorizing before typing down, but instead reading and reading again about a building some architects want to demolish, 2017

blue acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 762 pieces)

200.79 x 460.63 in. aprox. installed

moisture proof sticky cheeky blind self portrait with wiki leaky treats for all skeptical immigrant dark skinned illegal aliens about alternative facts and walls, after reading again and again 'libellus de medicinalibus indorum herbis' while listening to 'It's impossible', a cover of the cheesy but beautiful 'somos novios', while chewing cheapie cheetos at the convenience store just opened by a friend in a totally unsuspected place a week ago, 2017

terracotta acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 523 pieces)

 

moisture proof sticky cheeky blind self portrait with wiki leaky treats for all skeptical immigrant dark skinned illegal aliens about alternative facts and walls, after reading again and again 'libellus de medicinalibus indorum herbis' while listening to 'It's impossible', a cover of the cheesy but beautiful 'somos novios', while chewing cheapie cheetos at the convenience store just opened by a friend in a totally unsuspected place a week ago, 2017

terracotta acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 523 pieces)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

documentation of performance by la bruja de texcoco, in the context of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

documentation of performance by la bruja de texcoco, in the context of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

autodestrucción: avant et après le voyage d ́antonin artaud à la terre rouge, 2018
collage. ink on paper and tape

55.91 x 94.49 in.

autodestrucción: avant et après le voyage d ́antonin artaud à la terre rouge, 2018
collage. ink on paper and tape

55.91 x 94.49 in.

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017


installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017


installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, a, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, a, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically iconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, b, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically iconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, b, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, c, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

121 x 188 x 20 cm

 

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, c, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

121 x 188 x 20 cm

 

tequioh I, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

62.01 x 82.68 in.

tequioh I, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

62.01 x 82.68 in.

tequioh III, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

82.68 x 62.01 in.

tequioh III, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

82.68 x 62.01 in.

reconstruction: the five enemies I, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies I, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

 

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

 

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015

mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015

mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

nuestra imagen actual, 1, 2011
acrylic paint on kraft paper
300 x 400 cm

nuestra imagen actual, 1, 2011
acrylic paint on kraft paper
300 x 400 cm

nuestra imagen actual: helena, 2012

vinyl paint, ink on water, based acrylic enamel on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

 

nuestra imagen actual: helena, 2012

vinyl paint, ink on water, based acrylic enamel on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

 

nuestra imagen actual: gabriel, 2015

indian ink on water, based acrylic, enamel paint on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

nuestra imagen actual: gabriel, 2015

indian ink on water, based acrylic, enamel paint on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

nuestra imagen actual, XVIII, 2019
water based acrylic enamel paint on paper
paper size: 39.37 x 59.06 in.

nuestra imagen actual, XVIII, 2019
water based acrylic enamel paint on paper
paper size: 39.37 x 59.06 in.

autorretrato ciego brindando con vino espumoso natural biodinámico al tiempo de recordar cómo hacer que cruja de una mordida una enchiladita potosina, en la única cantina de ahualulco donde sirven mezcal ipiña, a punto de llorar, escuchando a las hermanas pulido cantando ‘flor de canela’, tratando de terminar de leer ‘queer ancient ways’, de zairong xiang, un ser humano, 2019

gold acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

installed: 95.67 x 281.89 x .79 in.

variable dimensions (installation of 319 pieces)

autorretrato ciego brindando con vino espumoso natural biodinámico al tiempo de recordar cómo hacer que cruja de una mordida una enchiladita potosina, en la única cantina de ahualulco donde sirven mezcal ipiña, a punto de llorar, escuchando a las hermanas pulido cantando ‘flor de canela’, tratando de terminar de leer ‘queer ancient ways’, de zairong xiang, un ser humano, 2019

gold acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

installed: 95.67 x 281.89 x .79 in.

variable dimensions (installation of 319 pieces)

blind self portrait listening to the tunes of 'la josefinita' while I remember sergio gonzález rodríguez telling me to fear nothing but my own tears, crying about what you have no more and can't get back, after eating some dry calamari roasted over a nice clay grill in a fancy restaurant, sipping little glasses of cold rice wine, pretending to write again all i'm kind of memorizing before typing down, but instead reading and reading again about a building some architects want to demolish, 2017

blue acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 762 pieces)

200.79 x 460.63 in. aprox. installed

blind self portrait listening to the tunes of 'la josefinita' while I remember sergio gonzález rodríguez telling me to fear nothing but my own tears, crying about what you have no more and can't get back, after eating some dry calamari roasted over a nice clay grill in a fancy restaurant, sipping little glasses of cold rice wine, pretending to write again all i'm kind of memorizing before typing down, but instead reading and reading again about a building some architects want to demolish, 2017

blue acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 762 pieces)

200.79 x 460.63 in. aprox. installed

moisture proof sticky cheeky blind self portrait with wiki leaky treats for all skeptical immigrant dark skinned illegal aliens about alternative facts and walls, after reading again and again 'libellus de medicinalibus indorum herbis' while listening to 'It's impossible', a cover of the cheesy but beautiful 'somos novios', while chewing cheapie cheetos at the convenience store just opened by a friend in a totally unsuspected place a week ago, 2017

terracotta acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 523 pieces)

 

moisture proof sticky cheeky blind self portrait with wiki leaky treats for all skeptical immigrant dark skinned illegal aliens about alternative facts and walls, after reading again and again 'libellus de medicinalibus indorum herbis' while listening to 'It's impossible', a cover of the cheesy but beautiful 'somos novios', while chewing cheapie cheetos at the convenience store just opened by a friend in a totally unsuspected place a week ago, 2017

terracotta acrylic paint on newspaper clippings, cardboard, photographs, drawings, postcards, envelopes, tickets, vouchers, letters, posters, flyers, cards, recipes, napkins and steel pins on wall

variable dimensions (installation of 523 pieces)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

autoreconstrucción: to insist, to insist, to insist, a project by abraham cruzvillegas & bárbara foulkes, 2018
documentation of performance at the kitchen, new york, 2018
performers: bárbara foulkes and andrés garcía nestitla (not pictured)

 

documentation of performance by la bruja de texcoco, in the context of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

documentation of performance by la bruja de texcoco, in the context of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of autorreconstrucción: detritus, museo universitario de ciencias y arte - muca, mexico city, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

installation view of ​autorreconstrucción: social tissue, kunsthaus zurich, 2018

autodestrucción: avant et après le voyage d ́antonin artaud à la terre rouge, 2018
collage. ink on paper and tape

55.91 x 94.49 in.

autodestrucción: avant et après le voyage d ́antonin artaud à la terre rouge, 2018
collage. ink on paper and tape

55.91 x 94.49 in.

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

the water trilogy 3, 2017

installation. geodesic dome structures (wooden sticks, hemp rope, tarred cardboard, screws and bottle caps); scale models, wooden tables, glass, plastic beer boxes, books, photographs

variable dimensions

intallation view of abraham cruzvillegas, sensory spaces, museum boijmans van beuningen, the netherlands, 2018

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017


installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017


installation view of ​the water trilogy 3: autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, as part of sensory spaces 12,

museum boijmans van beuningen, rotterdam, the netherlands, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autodefensión microtonal obrera campesina estudiantil metabolista descalza, 2017

newspapers, wallpapers, japanese paper, magazines, disposable chopsticks, bamboos, hemp strings, morning glory, moonflower, soil, plastic pots

70.87 x 59.06 x 208.66 in. each

installation view of abraham cruzvillegas - the water trilogy 2, maison ginza hermès, tokyo, 2017

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, a, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, a, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically iconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, b, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically iconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, b, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

47.64 x 74.02 in.

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, c, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

121 x 188 x 20 cm

 

autoconclusion: ideologically inconsistent identity: jetties, gutters & urinals, c, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas and tools

121 x 188 x 20 cm

 

tequioh I, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

62.01 x 82.68 in.

tequioh I, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

62.01 x 82.68 in.

tequioh III, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

82.68 x 62.01 in.

tequioh III, 2017

acrylic paint on inkjet print on canvas, tools

82.68 x 62.01 in.

reconstruction: the five enemies I, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies I, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

reconstruction: the five enemies II, 2018

acrylic, paint, wood, iron, plastic, cloth

variable dimensions

installation view of 21st biennale of sydney, australia, 2018

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

 

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

 

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015

mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015

mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

empty lot, 2015
mixed media
variable dimensions
installation view, hyundai commission turbine hall, tate modern, london, 2015

nuestra imagen actual, 1, 2011
acrylic paint on kraft paper
300 x 400 cm

nuestra imagen actual, 1, 2011
acrylic paint on kraft paper
300 x 400 cm

nuestra imagen actual: helena, 2012

vinyl paint, ink on water, based acrylic enamel on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

 

nuestra imagen actual: helena, 2012

vinyl paint, ink on water, based acrylic enamel on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

 

nuestra imagen actual: gabriel, 2015

indian ink on water, based acrylic, enamel paint on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

nuestra imagen actual: gabriel, 2015

indian ink on water, based acrylic, enamel paint on kraft paper

118.11 x 157.48 in.

nuestra imagen actual, XVIII, 2019
water based acrylic enamel paint on paper
paper size: 39.37 x 59.06 in.

nuestra imagen actual, XVIII, 2019
water based acrylic enamel paint on paper
paper size: 39.37 x 59.06 in.

abraham cruzvillegas - Artists - Kurimanzutto

notable solo exhibitions

Past solo exhibitions include: Splitogetherness: another groove, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany (2025); Little song, kurimanzutto, New York (2023); Abraham Cruzvillegas, Winsing Arts Foundation, Taipei City, Taiwan (2023);  éclat, Les Tanneries – Centre d’art contemporain, Amilly, France (2022); Agua Dulce, The Bass Museum of Art, Miami (2020); Hi, how are you, Gonzo?, The Contemporary Austin, Texas (2019); traveled to Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2019); Esculturas pendientes, kurimanzutto, Mexico City (2019); Autorreconstrucción: Social Tissue, Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland (2018); Autocontusión, kurimanzutto, New York (2018); The Water Trilogy 3: Autoconclusion: Ideologically Inconsistent Identity: Jetties, Gutters & Urinals, as part of Sensory Spaces 12, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2017); The Water Trilogy 2: Autodefensión Microtonal Obrera Campesina Estudiantil Metabolista Descalza, Ginza Maison Hermès Le Forum, Tokyo (2017); Autoconstriction approximante vibrante rétroflexe, Carré d'Art - Musée d'art contemporain de Nîmes, France (2016); Empty Lot, Tate Modern, London (2015); Autodestrucción7: Deshaciendo el nudo, Museo de Arte de Lima, Peru (2015); Abraham Cruzvillegas: Autoconstrucción, Museo Jumex, Mexico City and Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico (2014); Abraham Cruzvillegas: The Autoconstrucción Suites, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2014) and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2013); Nuestra imagen actual: autorretratos recientes Abraham Cruzvillegas, kurimanzutto, Mexico City (2012); Self Builders’ Groove. Final Project for DAAD Residency, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Berlin (2011); Autoconstrucción: The Film, New Museum, New York (2011); The Magnificent Seven: Capp Street Project: Abraham Cruzvillegas, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco (2009); Autoconstrucción: The Soundtrack, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, United Kingdom (2008), among others.

selected group exhibitions and biennials

Additionally, his work has been included in various group exhibitions: Diary of Flowers: Artists and their Worlds, MOCA, Los Ängeles (2025); Something in the Water, MAXXI, Rome, Italy (2025); How to be Happy Together?, Para Site, Hong Kong, China (2024); What Matters: A Proposition in Eight Rooms, SFMOMA, San Francisco (2024); By Way Of: Material and Motion in the Guggenheim Collection, Guggenheim Museum, New York (2024); Colección Jumex: Todo se vuelve más ligero, Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2023); Brand New Ancients, Misk Art Institute, Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Arts Hall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2023);  TODOS JUNTOS (All Together), kurimanzutto, New York (2022); Futuros Abundantes, C3A Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Spain (2022); Excepciones Normales: Arte Contemporáneo en México, Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2021); Siembra, kurimanzutto, Mexico City (2021); The Aerodrome, Ikon, Birmingham, United Kingdom (2019); Artaud 1936, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2018); Dwelling Poetically: Mexico City, a case study, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Melbourne, Australia (2018); Precariat’s Meeting, Ming Contemporary Art Museum (McaM), Shanghai, China (2017); The Revolution Will Not Be Gray, Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2016); Atopía. Migración, Legado y Ausencia de Lugar, Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), Mexico (2014); Mexico Inside Out: Themes in Art Since 1990, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (2013); The Right to the City, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2013); It Is What It Is. Or Is It?, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Texas (2012); Blockbuster: Cinema for Exhibitions, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Mexico (2011); Tate Modern Collection Displays, Tate Modern, London (2011); Paréntesis, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO), Mexico (2009); An Unruly History of the Readymade, Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2008); Unmonumental: The Object in the 21stCentury, New Museum, New York (2007), among others.

His work has been exhibited in various international biennials, including: Biennial d'Architecture d'Orléans, Frac Centre-Val de Loire, Orleans, France (2019); Honolulu Biennial (2019); 21st Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2018); X Biennial de Nicaragua (2016); Sharjah Biennial 12, United Arab Emirates (2015); 12th and 10th Bienal de la Habana, Cuba (2015 and 2009); 9thShanghai Biennale, China (2012); dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany (2012); 9th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2012); 12th Istanbul Bienali, Turkey (2011); 6th SeMA Biennale Mediacity Seoul (2010); 54th Venice Bienniale (2003).

Videos

In this preview from the ART21 Art in the Twenty-First Century Season 7 episode, Legacy, artist Abraham Cruzvillegas discusses the concept of "autoconstrucción" as an insight into his own artistic practice.
Shown at his parents' home in Mexico City, the artist recounts how the home was constructed with found materials after his father acquired the empty land in the mid-1960s. "'Autoconstrucción' as a concept is related to people making their houses as they can," explains Cruzvillegas. "It's not a method or technique or style; it's more about the social circumstances and the political circumstances."

 

Abraham Cruzvillegas - Autorreconstrucción: Social Tissue, Kunsthaus Zürich, 2018

La Bruja de Texcoco, Andrés García Nestitla and Edson Ontiveros performing