Adolfo Cantú

Adolfo Cantú.- Multidisciplinary artist originally from Monterrey, Nuevo León, painter, sculptor and engraver.

He studied Music with Director Uberto Zanolli and Graphic Design at IESDAC and Architecture at UIC. In his youth he worked at the Atelier Federico Cantú – Luis Ortiz Monasterio, where he learned the technique of engraving and bronze sculpture. He lived in France and studied scrap metal sculpture and painting in Calvisson and Chars with the Sculptor Aligna. He entered the Martil workshops in the Moroccan Mediterranean with Meki Megara. In 2007 he began his postgraduate studies with the chair of Doctor Teresa del Conde and in 2019 he was part of the Mexico Japan Seto University project.

Parallel to creation in art, in 2022 he published the book “Three Pioneers of art in Nuevo León.” He is a member of the Artistic Heritage Council of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Deputy Director of the Friends of the Hall Council, Executor of the Cantú Garza legacy and founder of the “Cantú y de Teresa” Collection.

He was Deputy Director of Val Ray Gallery of Modern Art. He has published a hundred articles referring to the “Mexican School of Painting and Sculpture” in magazines including The Billonaire and Le Art Journal, and since 2007 he has judged works of art at the Morton auction house.

Since 1990 his work has been exhibited in different forums in America and Europe, during the last decade he has exhibited in countless graphic collectives.

In 2023 he presented his work in the exhibition “Surrealism” at Salón de la Plástica Mexicana during its 70th anniversary. He was also an art speaker at the Palace of Fine Arts and exhibited his Cantú y de Teresa collection at the headquarters of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), located on Avenida Paseó de la Reforma, in Mexico City.

Title of Work: El Flechador del Sol

Description of work: Since it is not a single-dimensional canvas, the intervention of the work was addressed at different points. It was decided to work on the irregular texture, executing a mix of techniques.

The artist's proposal represents on one of its faces, the imposing Cerro de la Silla and on the opposite face, the sun arrow, coming from the myth that tells that the ancient settlers shot an arrow at the sun crossing the Cerro de la Silla. This figure was also used by the legendary Federico Cantú Garza as a relief project. Thus, at the top of the Olmec head, the most powerful star, the sun, appears, creating a link that unites the earth with this celestial body.

For the front and back, the flora and fauna of the State of Nuevo León merge, allowing the appreciation of such a beautiful ancient work, bequeathed by one of the oldest civilizations in Mesoamerica “The Olmecs”.