Eric Pozos Vásquez

Oaxaca, México

Oaxacan born artist, Eric Pozos Vázquez, is a painter and graphic artist who lives and creates in a Oaxacan-based workshop dedicated to community-based and cultural projects.  Themes of indigenous cultures and political and social issues are in the forefront of this workshop that was co-founded by Pozos with other well-known and respected graphic artists. Their mission is twofold: to expose and teach graphic arts to interested youths in nearby communities and to mentor interested, talented young artists. Pozos has taught drawing, engraving and painting in workshops in a variety of Oaxacan-based institutions.

Pozos is guided by his connection to his Mixtec indigenous culture that is resisting extinction by a modern world. Encouraged by his humble parents, he believes that he must represent the Mixtec with persistency and pride, observing through art the melting pot of beauty and traditions within this culture. Pozos explains his artistic choices this way: “The essential objective of my work is to correct the worldview of the Mixtec culture, re-signify it, appropriate it, validate it in a globalized world that is not very sensitive to minorities.” For this reason, mythology, pre-Hispanic iconography and Mixtec images are recurring themes in his pieces.  Pozos believes that he has become an ambassador committed to the social, cultural and economic problems of his community.  

Pozos work is exhibited throughout Mexico and in Colombia, Brazil, U.S. and Canada.