Roberto Márquez

Roberto Marquez (born 1959) is a painter originally from Mexico. He was born in Mexico City and spent his later childhood in Guadalajara, He later moved to the U.S. state of Arizona, and then to New York. His paintings incorporate dreamlike images from literature, Mexican history, and himself. His work is known for its "literary allusions and visual metaphors" and for its frequent references to music. and Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington.

Early life and education The artist was born in Mexico City in 1959, but raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco. There, he studied sculpture and eventually graduated with a degree in architecture.

Marquez attended many a literary tertulias in Guadalajara. He studied poetry with Elías Nandino and marks Jorge Esquinca as a close artistic and literary collaborator.

Work In 1990, Marquez moved from Guadalajara to Phoenix, Arizona. After working there for five years, he relocated to New York City in 1995, working out of a studio in Weehawken, New Jersey.

A retrospective exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art was held in 1994, titled, "Sojourns in the Labyrinth".

In 1997, an exhibition at MARCO (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey), "Fragmentos del Tiempo", provided a comprehensive survey of his work since the early 1980s.

For most of the second half of the 20th century and 21st century, Márquez exhibited almost exclusively at the Riva Yares Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His first New York solo exhibition, "Contrapasso: New York City, 1989 – 2025,” curated by Donald Ryan, opened at Paul Soto Gallery in 2025.

Selected public collections

Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), Mexico City. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Monterrey, Nuevo León. Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona. Arizona State University Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. McDonalds Corporation, Chicago, Illinois. Shirley L. & Herbert J. Semler Foundation, Portland, Oregon. , Guadalajara, Jalisco.

Publications Lucie-Smith, Edward, Roberto Marquez. 2002

Illustrated books

Campbell, Federico. Máscara negra. Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz, 1995. Díaz, Adriana. Sombra abierta. Guadalajara: Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco, Departamento de Bellas Artes, 1987. . Augurios. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1984. García Márquez, Gabriel. Ojos de perro azul. Tokio: Fukutake Shoten, 1990. Available in various editions. Luna que se quiebra. Guadalajara: Premia, 1985. Michael, I.B. El jinete. Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz, 1995. . Insomnios del otro lado. Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz, 1994. Nandino, Elías. Conversación con el mar. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1982. Costumbre de morir a diario. Guadalajara: Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco, Departamento de Bellas Artes, 1986. Navarro, Luis Alberto. Las livianas. Guadalajara: Hora Absurda, 1983. . Puerta de verano. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1983. Schneider, Luis Mario. Refugio. Mexico City: Joaquín Mortiz, 1995. Torres Sánchez, Rafael. Cuatro fechas y un son para niños. Guadalajara: Cuarto Menguante, 1982.