Though deceased, legacy of Mexican artist lives

A new exhibit called “Tierra Anegada” has been installed at the Institute of Mexico. It highlights twenty-six works of the deceased Jesus Urbieta, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico. Urbieta won several international awards including the Grand Golden Palette Award at the twenty-sixth International Painting Festival of the Grimaldi Museum in Cagnes, France. News Five’s Jose Sanchez visited the exhibit at the corner of Newtown Barracks and Wilson Street.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting
The art of Jesus Urbieta has travelled throughout Latin America. The Mexican painter and writer has often mused about his native Oaxaca. Beyond the mountains, village life has been the primary subject of his works. The mixed media he applied include acrylic, watercolor, pastel and ink. All of these mediums have merged into warm colors on paper he made himself.

Jorge Lopez, Director, Mexican Cultural Institute
“He painted in Amate. Amate is paper made by hand. This paper was made by the artist. In the works we can see animals, we can see village, the church, houses; humans of Oaxaca. This is only one series of his work. I saw other works that are different. I think the artist was very prolific, very creative. He has also a poetry book, a novel book. He is very creative and I think this work is like a reflection of his illness and the collection is of his village Oaxaca. I think it is particular of his style.”

Oaxaca is the hometown of many renowned artists. Urbieta was on the path to artistic greatness but he had cancer and passed away.

Jorge Lopez
“He died in ninety-seven and the works were made in ninety-six. At this moment the artist was very sick and he tried to imagine his village under the water. What happened is a village comes with a large amount of water. This is the late motif of the works. This exhibition is a tribute to ten years of his death. The exhibition was in many countries over Latin America; Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala and also Belize. The name is Tierra Anegada is like land with a lot of water. We are very happy that the collection was here in Belize.”

Urbieta may be gone but his legacy survives through art. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.

The exhibit runs until March tenth.