Amador Lugo
Mexico
(1921 – 2002)
Amador Lugo Guadarrama was an exceptional artist who left an indelible mark on Mexican art. He is primarily known for his landscape painting and for his role in the founding of various cultural institutions.
He was born on April 12, 1921, in Santa Rosa, Guerrero, Mexico. His education in childhood was limited, but everything changed when he moved to Taxco after his second year of primary school. From an early age, he showed a great interest in art, especially painting. At the age of 12, he entered the Open-Air Painting School of Taxco, where he was mentored by the Japanese master Tamiji Kitagawa. This experience deeply marked him, instilling in him a profound appreciation for nature and the Mexican landscape, elements that would become the central axis of his work.
In 1934, he held his first exhibition sponsored by the school in Mexico City. After completing his studies in Taxco, Lugo moved to Mexico City in 1942. There, he continued his artistic training in the engraving workshop of the School of Art Books and at the Normal Superior School, where he studied fine arts. During this period, he also studied engraving with Carlos Alvarado Lang, clay sculpture at the San Carlos Academy, and joined the Mexican Society of Engravers, an organization dedicated to promoting and disseminating engraving techniques.
Lugo stood out as a prolific painter, engraver, and draftsman. His work is characterized by a deep sensitivity to the Mexican landscape, which he portrayed with a vibrant palette, harmonious compositions, and a poetic gaze. Throughout his career, he experimented with various styles and techniques, never losing sight of his passion for representing the Mexican nature. Although he shared aesthetic affinities with the Mexican muralism school, he was not as interested in its politics. Therefore, he participated in the founding of institutions such as the Mexican Society of Engravers and the Salon of Mexican Plastic Arts, which provided opportunities for artists outside the dominant movement.
Amador Lugo Guadarrama married María de los Ángeles Trejo in 1952. He received numerous awards throughout his artistic career. Among the most important are the National Engraving Prize in 1963 and the National Plastic Arts Prize in 1995. He traveled to Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru in 1964, to Europe in 1979 (visiting France, Italy, England, Switzerland, Germany, and Spain), and to Cuba in 1980. His work is part of the collections of important museums in Mexico and abroad, such as the National Museum of Art, the Museum of Prints, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
He passed away on June 26, 2002, in Mexico City, leaving behind an invaluable artistic legacy. Considered one of the most important Mexican landscape artists of the 20th century, his work continues to captivate audiences and critics alike for its sensitivity, beauty, and deep roots in Mexican identity.
