The exhibition is dedicated to the ancient technique of burin engraving, a process that, within contemporary printmaking, revives the tradition of 15th-century European engravers, when prints played an essential role in book illustration and the production of religious images. In Mexico, this technique acquired a social and representational character with José Guadalupe Posada and, later, thanks to the profound technical knowledge of Carlos Alvarado Lang, was transmitted to important painters and engravers such as Federico Cantú and Alfredo Zalce, who achieved outstanding results. The exhibition recalls this heritage and connects it with the current practice of burin engraving, a technique mastered by few engravers today due to the discipline and perseverance it demands.
The exhibition presents burin engravings printed in relief on Plexiglas plates, belonging to the series dedicated to the colonial and post-colonial architecture of the city of Durango.
The works emerge from the meticulous process of making repeated incisions on the plate with a small tool called a burin, creating a network of lines that defines the image and its chiaroscuro. Afterward, the plate is inked by hand or with a semi-soft roller for relief printing and pressed onto pre-moistened cotton paper. Each print, known as a print or engraving, is part of a limited edition of originals, numbered and signed individually by the artist, making them unique and unrepeatable works.
The project is the work of visual artist Oscar Mendoza, originally from Durango, who earned his degree in painting, sculpture, and engraving from the School of Painting, Sculpture, and Crafts at the U.J.E.D. In 1995, Mendoza, trained in the creative processes of master Guillermo Bravo Morán—a prominent collaborator on various mural projects with David Alfaro Siqueiros—has a solid career whose artwork is part of important collections and foundations such as La Jiménez Godoy in Murcia, Spain; the ArteCoby Foundation in Madrid, Spain; and the Durango State Institute of Culture.
In 2023, his graphic work was selected for the Guillermo Ceniceros National Engraving Prize in Durango. He also taught two engraving courses using the burin technique: one in Toluca, State of Mexico, at the specialized workshop Rinoceronte Magenta, and another in Durango, at the Guillermo Ceniceros Engraving Workshop of the museum of the same name.
Source: gob
