Pedro Mendoza

From San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Pedro is an internationally reknown multi-media sculptor who has exhibited extensively in Mexico, and at the Peabody Museum in the United States. He began the art of wood carving as a child under the mentorship of his grandfather Don Félix Ortega, and mother Luisa Ortega Cruz. At the age of 13 he joined the Rufino Tamayo Institute in Oaxaca. There he learned from artists Mariano Matus in drawing, Francisco Monterrosa in engraving, Luis Valencia in ceramics, and Abraham Torres. During his high school years, he created large-format pieces from paper mâché and began to develop his unique style as a contemporary sculptor.

Pedro’s artistic aim is to offer a different perspective of concepts and beliefs that are typically viewed as black and white. His mediums are heavily focused on animals, the natural environment, and wood carving with which he can demonstrate complex life and death themes, including the continuation of life after death and second chances in death. The taboos and fear around dying inspired him to study taxidermy and begin collecting the bones of animals that he often incorporates into his pieces. He is particularly concerned with using color, texture, and multi-media techniques to communicate the intensity, unity, and freedom of life and death; with life being both fragile and indominable, and death being an end, as well as a beginning.

All the natural elements are reflected in Pedro’s work, but he says, “Mother Earth is so noble, it is the star of my focus. It is where life begins and ends on this plane of existence, and it gives rise to the development of new life. Things that breathe and run leave their bones, which allows me to talk about them. Through artistic treatment I give them a way to continue telling us something about history and what they have witnessed.”

Nahualism, or the belief that certain people are imbued with the power to manifest themselves as their spirit animals, travel to different realms, and access the wisdom of genetic memory, is another source of inspiration for Pedro’s creativity. Similarly, generational oral traditions that speak of a connection between indigenous peoples of Oaxaca, star beings, and their possible involvement in imparting techniques that made otherwise unexplained feats possible, such as complex rock carving and polishing without machinery, inform his work. “For me art is a way of materializing the imaginary with the real, of developing a language of its own, supported by different elements, but art is also part of the personal heritage, expressing freedom in its maximum expression, to achieve transcendence."

“My challenge continues to be growth because there are new lines around a concept every day. The pandemic allowed me to start a new path accompanied by other masters such as Claudio Jerónimo and Toñita Silva from the Canela Studio, together our skills reflect a distinct development in ceramics that we hope to share with young artists so that they might be inspired to continue these culurally informed artistic traditions.”

Pedro’s work ranges in size from small vessels and carvings to large architectural installations in a wide range of mediums. If you would like to see more of it in a particular style or medium, or if you would like to comission an original piece, please send us an email request with your phone number so that we may reach out to you directly to discuss the details: info@tonalliartandimports.com