Luis Fitch: Drawing Blood
Jenkins Community Gallery
Luis Fitch’s Drawing Blood series is not a simple retelling of his childhood in Mexico; the works remix complex narratives and retrofit Mexican mythologies with a crisp and vibrant street art sensibility.
The work is recognizable for its graphic simplicity: a bright, playful, vectorized update to traditional Mexican iconography that speaks to the problems of modern-day Mexico such as government corruption and drug war violence.
Combining contemporary digital technology with “Papel Picado,” the Mexican technique of colorful hand-cut paper dating back to the 18th century, the work moves seamlessly across cultures and through time.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Luis Fitch was born in 1965 and raised in the most visited border in the world, Tijuana, Mexico. A highly industrialized, cross-cultural, and international city, Tijuana is a place of constant change, international commerce, and pseudo-American post-modern living. Fitch’s early artistic development was markedly influenced by the socio-political conditions affecting Tijuana and the San Diego area, where he lived after graduating from high school in Mexico.
After moving to California in the mid-eighties, Fitch studied graphic design and visual arts. His work explores the dichotomy of a life caught between two worlds — the “south” (Mexico) and the “north” (United States).
Fitch currently lives and works in Minneapolis, MN, where he directs his own cross-cultural branding agency and art studio.
