SoHo Galleries Exhibit: Young Artist Inspired by Old Masters

A Mexico City artist who draws inspiration from Spanish masters and Mexican modernists will showcase his work in Mérida. César Mauricio Ruiz Quiroz, 20, brings his exhibition “Timeless” to SoHo Galleries on Dec. 20.

Despite his age, Ruiz Quiroz has already shown work at prestigious venues, including Barcelona’s Museu Europeu d’Art Modern, which champions contemporary figurative art. The young painter graduated from Cedart “Luis Spota Saavedra,” an arts high school in Mexico City, where he developed a lifelong pursuit of capturing reality on canvas.

Mauricio Ruiz
Mauricio RuizPhoto: Courtesy
Mauricio RuizPhoto: Courtesy

After finishing at Cedart, he continued his training with Spanish painter Rafael Barrull, learning classical techniques that date back centuries. His approach blends Baroque drama with Impressionist light, while keeping Mexican modernism at its heart.

“Echoing the words of Joaquín Sorolla, his aspiration is to be a ‘painter of truth,'” according to his biography. The Spanish master Sorolla, known for his brilliant depictions of Mediterranean light and life, is among several major influences on the young artist’s development.

But it’s another painter who holds special significance in Ruiz Quiroz’s work. Saturnino Herrán, who died at 31 in 1918, pioneered a distinctly Mexican approach to modern art a decade before the famous muralists. Herrán’s question about national identity — “What is Mexico?” — continues to resonate in Ruiz Quiroz’s paintings.

Herrán portrayed indigenous peoples with dignity and explored religious syncretism and cultural mixing, laying the groundwork that Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros would later build upon. His influence on contemporary Mexican painters remains strong more than a century after his death.

Ruiz Quiroz doesn’t limit himself to one style. While realism anchors his practice, he’s explored German Expressionism and abstract art. His references range from Diego Velázquez’s courtly portraits to the works of Herrán and Sorolla.

The painter has participated in workshops with accomplished artists including Costa Dvorezky, Zin Lim, Vincent Desiderio, Bernardo Siciliano and Teresa Oaxaca. He’s also exhibited at the Museo del Telégrafo, an extension of Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Arte.

His Barcelona showing at MEAM, which focuses exclusively on contemporary figurative art from living artists, marked a significant milestone. The museum, housed in an 18th-century palace, features more than 1,000 works by artists from five continents who work in realist traditions.

SoHo Galleries has been a fixture in Mérida’s art scene for years, hosting both established and emerging talent. The “Timeless” exhibition will run alongside works by the gallery’s resident artists.

Ruiz Quiroz describes his goal as capturing moments through technique while “leaving a part of himself in every painting.” It’s an approach that connects him to a long tradition of painters who’ve sought to interpret reality rather than simply record it.

The opening reception offers a chance to meet the artist and view his latest work. For a young artist, his exhibition history is already impressive — and based on his training and dedication, it’s possibly just the beginning.