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| Mateo Lopez was born in 1948 in a small fishing village in the state of Oaxaca, in the south of Mexico. Coming from a family of fourteen children, his formal education was cut short at the sixth grade due to the Lopez family's lack of resources. His talent found ways of escaping from the captivity of poverty, and at an early age he began painting murals on the walls of his family home. Mateo rose above many of the obstacles before him, traveled to the United States and worked to save money to return to his village and build a life in Puerto Angel. In the twenty-five years following his return, he along with his wife and children built a beautiful, earth-sensitive inn called La Posada Cañon Devata. Along with creating beautiful structures and landscapes, he has captured beauty and creativity on canvas with his painting. Over the years his talent has increased and been refined, and he brings more of his personal expression to bear upon the works of art he creates. His self-taught style brings to life the bright and exuberant colors of the reality he comes from and lives within. Behind the bright Mexican pinks and naive expression of his paintings one can discern the roots of the Mixtec and Zapotec blood that blends his palate of colors.
Visit Mateo's gallery at his home in Puerto Angel. Paintings are available for sale. |
New This Year 2004: Click here for
Mateo's latest paintings and poems in English and Spanish. More paintings and poems. A slide show of some of Mateo's paintings. |
