Mario Orozco Rivera

Mario Orozco Rivera (January 19, 1930 – November 20, 1998) was a Mexican muralist and painter, a later proponent of Mexican muralism, and whose work was particularly influenced by David Alfaro Siqueiros. He created a number of murals, mostly in the state of Veracruz before becoming an assistant to Siqueiros, directing the Taller Siqueiros in Cuernavaca and working with the artists on projects such as the Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros. While preferring mural work, which he considered less commercial, Orozco Rivera also created oils and sculptures. Many of these works were exhibited in Mexico and abroad and can be found in many major collections. His work received recognition in various countries.

Life Orozco Rivera was born in Mexico City to a circus family, in which he performed as a young child. He was a cousin of painter José Clemente Orozco. When asked about his famous last names, he used to state “(José Clemente) Orozco is my dad and (Diego) Rivera is my mom!

At age sixteen he went to Cuba but returned after the Batista coup to begin studying at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" in 1952. After he finished, he traveled in Europe and into the then Soviet Union and China, paying for it by singing political songs.

In 1956 and 1957 Orozco Rivera won the acquisition prize of the Nuevos Valores event of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. He won third place at the International Painting Competition in the Soviet Union in 1957. He also received recognitions for his work from the governments of Bulgaria, France and Czechoslovakia. After his death the Foro Cultural Coyoacanense and the Polyforum Cultural Siquieros held retrospectives and tributes to his work.

Artistry Orozco Rivera was a student and apprentice to David Alfaro Siqueiros, a later proponent of the Mexican muralism movement, faithfully adhering to the aesthetics and ideology of social realism. His artistic work; oils, sculptures and murals show strong influence from Siqueiros, with the most common themes being the struggles of common and marginalized peoples, done without portraying anyone in particular, using composite faces. He considered painting to be a social contract and preferred painting murals over easel works “which are sold in galleries like merchandise.” He did not believe in art for its own sake, rather that it was fundamentally social and communicative. He stated he painted to express what he had inside, not for pleasure.