AUGUST 17, 1954

MEXICAN ZAPOTEC WEAVER ARNULFO MENDOZA RUIZ BORN

Ruiz, born in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, learned Zapotec weaving at his family’s workshop. Arnulfo studied fine arts at Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO) from 1972-74. In 1974, he helped found the Taller Rufino Tamayo workshop and, in 1975, supervised tapestry production for an Otis Art Institute exhibit. In 1987, Arnulfo founded and, through 2010, directed the Arnulfo Mendoza Workshop. In 1996, the Fundación Cultural Banamex (FCB) named him of one their “grandmasters” of Mexican folk art. In 2001, Ruiz received the Chimalli de Oro from the El Imparcial newspaper. In 2003, he was featured at Weaving a Cultural Testimony exhibit, Mexican Art Museum, Chicago (MAMC). His work is in permanent collections of MAMC; Tama Life 21, Tokyo; FCB; Waterloo Center for the Art, Iowa; and is in several publications. Ruiz had over 50 exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe. From 2009-10, he was the co-director of La Mano Mágica Gallery, in Oaxaca. Ruiz died on March 7, 2014, in Oaxaca.

Source: “Arnulfo Mendoza Ruiz,” Gobierno de Mexico.  Retrieved 6/11/2020, https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=artista&table_id=3982

Photo: Mitzy.humphrey, 6/15/2016. Permissive Use.