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Luis Jimenez, 1940-2006
Born El Paso, Texas
Luis Jiménez's large-scale fiberglass sculptures of mustangs, dancers, and howling coyotes have become familiar sights in public spaces across the United States. An internationally recognized artist, Jiménez put his stamp on Pop art by infusing his playful critique of American society with the history and myths of his native Southwest. His blazing Vaquero, installed just outside this building, offers a reinvention of equestrian sculpture that draws attention to the Hispanic origins of the American cowboy. The sculpture has been a signature work of the Smithsonian since it was acquired in the 1980s.
Born in the U.S.-Mexico borderland in Texas, Jiménez learned how to spray paint and weld while working at his father's neon shop. Without formal training, he moved to New York City in the 1960s, where the art world took notice of his talent.
Chicano portraitist Gaspar Enríquez, a friend of Jiménez, made this diptych a few years before Jiménez died in a studio accident.
Gaspar Enriquez, 2003 |