Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Francisco Onate - Mexican Printmaker

"Oaxaquenas" by Francisco Onate

This is my newest art purchase, a handtinted woodcut print by the Mexican Painter and Printmaker, Francisco Onate. Onate's work has been shown and is in collections all over Mexico, in the United States and in Russia.

When I saw the work at Zocalo Folk Art Gallery in Patzcuaro, I knew nothing about Onate but I knew I wanted some of his work. His work is contemporary but at the same time it celebrates the heritage of Mexico. He spoke at the opening of the Zocalo show and although my understanding of what he said was limited, I understood the charm and warmth in the work came from his love of the Mexican people and traditions.

I've tried to find a website for him but all I've found are some gallery websites that have shown his work. I wish you could have the thrill that I did in going through some 60 pieces. It was very hard to pick one....so I ended up with three.

3 comments:

jennifer rose said...

Well, have you seen the work of Mizraim Cardenas?

http://mizraimcardenas.com/index.php

pitchertaker said...

Exciting! Can't wait to see the other two...

P'taker

Anonymous said...

How wonderful to find Francisco's work on the web! I met Francisco over many trips to Michoacan in the 80's and 90's and own a large collection of his work. I also spent many hours with him discussing his work. He guided me to many traditional craftspeople throughout Michoacan when I was doing photographic studies. He made a few trips to the SF Bay Area in the late '90s and even conducted a few workshops here. His work -- truly wonderful -- is rarely found in the US. The Mexican Museum in Chicago has a few nice pieces of his in their permanent collection. If you have contact info for him I would love to get it as I lost contact with him about 10 years ago. philbellman@yahoo.com