José Luis Romo Martín facts for kids

José Luis Romo Martín (born April 19, 1954 – died May 22, 2016) was a talented Mexican artist. He was a painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. He belonged to the Otomi (Hñäñhü) people.

Artistic Influences

José Luis Romo Martín had important mentors and inspirations. A famous artist named Gunther Gerzso was his mentor. Gerzso greatly influenced Romo's life and his artwork.

You can also see inspiration from other well-known Mexican artists. These include Maria Izquierdo, Rufino Tamayo, and Frida Kahlo. Their styles and ideas helped shape Romo's unique artistic vision.

Romo's Unique Style

Romo often used specific colors in his paintings. He liked to combine warm colors like siennas and ochres. These are earthy brown and yellow tones. He also used cool greenish-blue colors.

Sometimes, these greenish-blues would stand out against darker greens. These darker greens looked like grass or wet fields. He used touches of red very carefully. Red usually appeared in areas where blood was shown. These red touches were measured to add value to other colors, like Indian red or pink. They never competed with the main colors.

What His Art Means

Romo's artwork often showed images from his childhood. He also included scenes from his birthplace, the Valle del Mezquital. His art also reflected recent events in his life or around him.

For example, the Mezquital Valley is very dry. It has little water or greenery. Romo would sometimes show water and plants in his art. This was a way of showing what was missing from his home. Other times, his art was more direct. He painted figures and objects that reminded him of a car crash he had in 1981.

One of his paintings shows his house with a cactus in front. This is one of his only pictures without fantasy elements. But it still has important symbols.

Fantasy in His Art

Romo's art is not just realistic. He added special elements that went beyond everyday life. These elements had deeper meanings. They could be allegories, symbols, or ways to remember things.

So, his fantasy was expressed in a "suprareal" or "fantastic" way. He took ordinary life and turned it into something poetic. He created images and ideas that were very personal to him.

His Career Journey

In 1978, José Luis Romo became an exhibit coordinator. This was at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, where he was studying.

Romo later founded the Ixmiquilpan Culture House. He spent many years teaching painting there. He taught art to people in the Otomí community. He wanted to share his knowledge and passion.

His artwork was shown in many important galleries. These included Galeria de Arte Mexicano and Galeria Lopez Quiroga in Mexico City. His art was also displayed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. He showed his work at MARCO in Monterrey, Mexico. In New York, his art was at Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art.

Awards and Scholarships

Romo received several scholarships during his career. These helped him continue his artistic work. He got scholarships from:

• Consejo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes de Querétaro
• Consejo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes de Nayarit
• Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público
• The University of Dallas in Texas

His art was also sold at major auction houses. These included Christie's and Sotheby's.

Recognition and Prizes

José Luis Romo Martín received many awards for his art:

• He won first place at the Aguascalientes Arts Contest.
• He received an honorific prize at the IV Ibero-American Art Biennial. This was from the Instituto Cultural Domecq.
• He won the Premio Estatal de Artes Visuales del Festival Amado Nervo in 2009. This award was given by Museo Emilio Ortiz in Tepic, Nayarit.

Notable Works

Here are some of José Luis Romo Martín's important artworks:

• Resistencia Otomí (Otomi Resistance) is part of the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection.
• Autorretrato 1987 (Self-Portrait 1987) is in the Permanent Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. You can see it here: Autorretrato 1987.
• He created illustrations for Don Quixote for Children. This book was special because it was in three languages: Otomí, Spanish, and English. He used leaves from the maguey plant for these illustrations in 2015.

Collective Exhibitions

José Luis Romo Martín's art was also part of many group exhibitions:

• Europalia 93 at PMMK - Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Oostende, Belgium (1993).
• "Pintores Latinoamericanos" (Latin American Painters) at the North America Smithsonian Institution (1995).
• "Pintores y Escultores Mexicanos" (Mexican Painters and Sculptors) at Galeria de Arte Mexicano (1996).
• "Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism" at SFNOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1996).
• Art Museum of South Texas (1997).
• "Landscape of the American" at Gibbes Museum of Art (1998).
• "Mexico Eterno, Arte y Permanencia" (Eternal Mexico, Art and Permanence) at Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico (2000).
• "Centenario de Frida Kahlo" (Centenary of Frida Kahlo) at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2007).
• Philadelphia Museum of Art (2007).
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2007).