Rodolfo Morales

Rodolfo Morales (May 8, 1925 – January 30, 2001) was a Mexican painter, who incorporated elements of magic realism into his work.

Morales is best known for his brightly colored surrealistic dream-like canvases and collages often featuring Mexican women in village settings. He was notable for his restoration of historic buildings in Ocotlán de Morelos and, together with Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo, helped make Oaxaca in Southern Mexico a centre for contemporary art and tourism. Up until his death in 2001, both he and Toledo had been regarded as Mexico’s greatest living artists for over a decade.

A Zapotec Native American, born to working class parents in the small town of Ocotlán de Morelos, Morales was an often solitary child who found comfort in drawing. From 1948 to 1953 he studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. He graduated as a drawing teacher and began a 32-year career as an art teacher at Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, a position he held from 1953 until 1985.

In 1965 while organizing a Christmas party at the home of a sculptor friend, Geles Cabrera, he used collages as decorations. She liked his works and suggested a trade: a piece of sculpture for a painting. This recognition stimulated Morales to focus all his efforts on painting and, to make extra money, he organized exhibitions of his work in small galleries around the capital.

In 1975 with Morales approaching 50, he was persuaded by Cabrera to hold his first mainstream solo exhibition at the Casa de las Campanas Art Gallery in Cuernavaca. Here his paintings came to the attention of famous Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. Tamayo helped Morales make contacts with art critics and galleries around the world, leading to a number of joint and solo exhibitions.

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