Sergio Hernández
Sergio Hernández was born in 1957 in Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca. From an early age, he displayed artistic inclinations that led him to study at the San Carlos Academy and later at the National School of Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving "La Esmeralda," where he trained alongside key figures in contemporary Mexican art. His artistic work has been enriched by influences as diverse as Oaxacan tradition, modern European art, and the indigenous worldview.
Hernández's work is characterized by its narrative and symbolic power, addressing themes such as death, fire, myths, and pre-Columbian history, all within a playful and profoundly poetic aesthetic. He has worked with multiple techniques, including oil, watercolor, gouache, inks, printmaking, and frescoes, as well as with less conventional materials such as lead and gold.
Throughout his career, he has presented more than 70 solo and group exhibitions in countries such as Mexico, France, Germany, Spain, South Korea, and the United States, among others. Some of his most notable exhibitions include “Popol Vuh,” “Tightrope Walker of the Night,” and “Retrospective 1982–1999,” as well as his participation in the First Havana Biennial and traveling exhibitions organized by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sergio Hernández's visual universe is populated by codices, symbolic animals, mythological figures, dreamlike landscapes, and narrative structures that evoke both ancient Mesoamerican manuscripts and medieval alchemical treatises. Many of his pieces incorporate references to literary texts, religious imagery, and scientific elements, creating a dialogue between the ancestral and the contemporary.
His visual art also includes notable sculptures and installations, such as the “Tzompantli” series exhibited at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. His exploration of printmaking has led him to collaborate with the Graphic Arts Institute of Oaxaca (IAGO), an institution that shares his commitment to promoting art in his home state.
Sergio Hernández has received important recognitions throughout his career, including the National System of Art Creators Scholarship, first place in the National Painting Competition for Students of the INBA and the Officer's Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, awarded by the Embassy of Spain.
Currently, his work is part of important collections in Mexico and abroad, consolidating his place as one of the great exponents of contemporary Mexican art, whose critical and creative gaze reinterprets history, territory and the national imaginary with a deeply personal and universal voice.
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