“I’m interested in chaos, accident and the harmony and beauty found within. In my work I provoke the accident to later, during the creative process, embrace it looking for reconciliation and homeostasis. I force in the problem to then rebuild within it. Is,during this forceful battle,where I find harmony andbeauty. My pragmatic approachhas allowed me to discover and merge different materials and techniques. I spent my childhood and younger years in Mexico, when I had the opportunity I visited artisans to their shops, andI traveled to some of Mexico’s major art-crafts producers states like Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and the central Mexican valley, there I visited several shops of recognized artisans, and was inspired by the richness of materials and variety of techniques, color and textures they fearlessly use, their passion to make their work look “hand-made”with much care to fine manufacture, has deeply influenced me on what an art piece should look like. My process is relatively complex and it has taken me quite some time to be able to understand the materials I use, as I ́m always looking for new ways of incorporating new materials and technology my work.”

For Rogelio Manzo, the practice of portraiture is more than a way to capture a likeness. His darkly compelling images of the human figure reflect a blend of cultural influences -as well as an underlying concern with the fragility of life-. In his work Manzo seeks to reveal the character of his subjects as they are “forced” to be themselves. He goes beneath the body’s protective layer of skin, which registers all personal events that scar the human being, to reveal their fragility and inevitable mortality.

Manzo’s work is shown throughout USA, Mexico and Europe, at solo and group shows in commercial galleries, international art fairs and museums, most notably at The Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City. And his work has been included in important private collections throughout like The Karen and Robert Duncan Art Collection and of El Museo de La Cancilleria, Mexico City.

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