Mauro Murillo
Artist
BIO
Murillo was born in Coahuila, Mexico and grew up most of his life in San Antonio, TX. From a young age he enjoyed drawing more than anything even before he could even write. During high school he attended Say Si, a youth after-school art program where he created art in different mediums and exhibited his work. He graduated with an associate’s degree in communication design from San Antonio College in 2020 and had his first ‘solo’ exhibition in 2021. His work has since been exhibited in Texas, Seattle, WA, and Denver, CO.
about my work
In my series dedicated to Mexican figures, I transform vintage photographs from the Mexican Revolution and the Golden Age of Cinema into Fauvist-style paintings. I adopted this colorful approach to resemble our vibrant culture. When I paint, I imagine I’m translating music with color, capturing arpeggios and rhythms on the canvas with the use of expressive brushstrokes. I take this multicolored concept, also, to create abstract paintings to express raw emotion, movement and freedom. Some of these abstract paintings are complemented with music I composed on guitar.
When I visited the town in Mexico where I lived some of my childhood after several years away, I had the opportunity to see the old machines displayed in the streets and visit its wooden theater—built in the early 20th century and since restored—which houses artifacts from the era of steam and coal. This experience ignited a sense of nostalgia, leading me to appreciate these antique objects for their meaning and respect for its local history of hardworking coal miners.
This travel has inspired me to create assemblages/sculptures using found materials, such as wood and sheet metal, that I secure with screws, nails, adhesives, and wire. Through this approach, I seek to express concepts revolving on the passage of time, transformation and personal experiences.