# Roberto Márquez (painter)

Roberto Marquez (born 1959) is a painter originally from Mexico. He was born in Mexico City and spent his later childhood in Guadalajara, where he graduated from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente. He later moved to Arizona, and then to New York. His paintings incorporate dreamlike images from literature, Mexican history, and himself. His work is known for its "literary allusions and visual metaphors" and for its frequent references to music.
Marquez's art has been collected and exhibited in numerous shows in galleries and museums, including the Tucson Museum of Art, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Hirshhorn Museum, and Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington.

## Early Life and Education

The artist was born in Mexico City in 1959, but raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco. There, he studied sculpture and eventually graduated with a degree in architecture.
Marquez attended many a literary tertulias in Guadalajara. He studied poetry with Elías Nandino and marks Jorge Esquinca as a close artistic and literary collaborator.

## Work

In 1990, Marquez moved from Guadalajara to Phoenix, Arizona. After working there for five years, he relocated to New York City in 1995, working out of a studio in Weehawken, New Jersey.
A retrospective exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art was held in 1994, titled, "Sojourns in the Labyrinth."
In 1997, an exhibition at MARCO (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey), "Fragmentos del Tiempo," provided a comprehensive survey of his work since the early 1980s.
For most of the second half of the 20th century and 21st century, Márquez exhibited almost exclusively at the Riva Yares Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His first New York solo exhibition, "Contrapasso: New York City, 1989 – 2025,” curated by Donald Ryan, opened at Paul Soto Gallery in 2025.

## Selected Public Collections

* Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), Mexico.
* Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Monterrey, Mexico.
* Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona.
* Arizona State University Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona.
* Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
* McDonalds Corporation, Chicago, Illinois.
* Shirley L. & Herbert J. Semler Foundation, Portland, Oregon.
* Museo de las Artes, Guadalajara, México.

## Publications

* Lucie-Smith, Edward , Roberto Marquez. 2002

## Illustrated Books

* Campbell, Federico. Máscara negra. México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1995.
* Díaz, Adriana. Sombra abierta. Guadalajara: Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco, Departamento de Bellas Artes, 1987.
* Esquinca, Jorge. Augurios. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1984.
* García Márquez, Gabriel. Ojos de perro azul. Tokio: Fukutake Shoten, 1990. Available in various editions.
* Luna que se quiebra. Guadalajara: Premia, 1985.
* Michael, I.B. El jinete. México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1995.
* Montiel, Mauricio. Insomnios del otro lado. México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1994.
* Nandino, Elías. Conversación con el mar. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1982.
* Costumbre de morir a diario. Guadalajara: Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco, Departamento de Bellas Artes, 1986.
* Navarro, Luis Alberto. Las livianas. Guadalajara: Hora Absurda, 1983.
* Quirarte, Vicente. Puerta de verano. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1983.
* Schneider, Luis Mario. Refugio. México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1995.
* Torres Sánchez, Rafael. Cuatro fechas y un son para niños. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1982.