Esperanza Gama

Jalisco, México

Esperanza Gama was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and graduated from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Guadalajara with a BFA in 1984. Four years later she moved to Paris and studied printmaking and drawing at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Chaville, France. She cites her travels throughout Europe and Southeast Asia as major influences on her work. 

Gama’s work expresses symbols that reflect her Mexican culture with themes such as the Mayan belief in the duality of life (good and evil). Through workshops, she is also dedicated to improving the lives of brave women who have suffered domestic violence through the empowerment of art. Gama's work often depicts important, historical Mexican women.

Gama’s art has been exhibited throughout Mexico and the United States in group and solo exhibitions. She was the first Latina to exhibit at the Union League Club Gallery in Chicago. Her work has been published in several noted surveys of Latino and Chicano art such as Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art, Arizona State University, 2002, and Chicano Art for Our Millennium, Arizona State University, 2004.