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Fabián Cháirez

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Fabián Cháirez
Fabián Cháirez in April 2023
Born (1987-12-13) 13 December 1987 (age 37)
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
EducationUniversity of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas (2007–2012)
Known forpainting
Notable workLa Revolución
Websitefabianchairez.com

Fabián Cháirez (born 13 December 1987) is a Mexican plastic artist known for his paintings on sexuality and traditional masculinity (machismo). He is both a painter and sculptor. His work has been exhibited at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Museo de Arte Moderno, and Museu de l'Art Prohibit. He has been based out of Mexico City since 2012.

Multiple paintings of his have caused controversy over their themes of queerness and the subversion of gender roles in contrast to their subjects, notably La Revolución and the works in his 2025 exhibit La venida del Señor.

Life and career

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Cháirez was born on 13 December 1987 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico.[1] His mother was a teacher, and he describes his father as being a charro.[2] When he came out to his family, they took him to church, trying to change his sexuality.[3] Before deciding to study art, he considered going into advertising.[2] He attended the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas from 2007 to 2012, where he earned a degree in visual arts.[2][4] He moved to Mexico City in 2012.[2][5]

Cháirez says he became an artist as an escape, a way to embrace who he was and fight back. He points to a near-death experience he had around the age of 20 when he and his male partner were attacked with a knife as being important for his career development. The experience caused him to reflect on why and how people can hate others enough to kill them just because of who they are.[5][6]

Early in his career, Cháirez painted murals, being involved with the graffiti scene in Chipas. His resin and fiber glass sculptures of legs, sometimes with penises, wearing high-heels are featured in LGBTQ bars throughout Mexico City; he dubbed them Tucked y untucked, in reference to tucking. In 2015, he was offered to display an individual exhibition at the José María Velasco Gallery in Tepito after the original artist had cancelled last minute.[2]

He takes pride in keeping his art what he describes as "democratic", being accessible in contrast to the perceived elitism that exists within the traditional fine arts. He sells his work and merchandise with images of his works on his website. His work is influenced by Ángel Zárraga, Saturnino Herrán, and neomexicanismo, an art movement originating in the 1980s characterized by the frequent use of iconic Mexican imagery.[2]

Cháirez created the painting used as cover art for Chilean-Mexican musician Mon Laferte's 2023 single "Tenochtitlán".[7] He also does drag under the name María Magdalena, which was his grandmother's name.[8]

La Revolución

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La Revolución (oil on canvas)

Cháirez's 30-by-20-centimetre (11.8 in × 7.9 in) oil painting La Revolución [es] (lit. 'The Revolution'), created in 2014, depicts Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata posing pin-up style wearing only a pink sombrero and high heels made of pistols astride an erect horse.[9][10] The work was exhibited at Marrakech Salón, a bar in Mexico City.[2]

The work's inclusion in a 2019 exhibition titled Emiliano: Zapata después de Zapata (lit. 'Emiliano: Zapata after Zapata') at the Palacio del Bellas Artes caused a national controversy. Its subversion of the traditional macho depictions of Zapata angered some, including the subject's descendants. Zapata's grandson, Jorge Zapata González, threatened to sue both the museum and Cháirez for defamation, claiming the work insinuated Zapata was gay and denigrated him.[11][12] Cháirez also received death threats for the piece.[9] On 10 December 2019, a group of around 200 protesters gathered at Bellas Artes, blocking its entrance and demanding that the work be removed or burned, some using homophobic slurs. Counterprotesters were also present, and the demonstrations ended in physical confrontations between the two sides.[11] The museum promised to keep the work on display, regardless of any protests. President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador addressed the controversy at a press conference, rejecting the violence and the calls for the painting to be removed.[10] The legal dispute between Jorge Zapata González and the museum was resolved, with the museum agreeing to remove the piece from any promotional materials and place a plaque next to the work expressing the Zapata family's disapproval of its content.[9]

On 13 December 2019, Cháirez and around 300 supporters gathered at the Palacio, many dressed as feminine depictions of Zapata. During the protest Cháirez and the exhibition's curator Luis Vargas Santiago both expressed disapproval of the museum's concessions, but Cháirez also said that he understood the family,[13][14]

I understand the anger of some because of an image that does not correspond to their expectations. I have felt rage when others have tried to impose an idea on me that does not fit with my way of thinking. This is something that many of us face every day, which is why with my painting I search for other possibilities of existing, of seeing and of interpreting reality.[13]

In January 2020, the work was acquired by Spanish businessman and collector Tatxo Benet and put in his Colección de Arte Prohibido (lit. 'Collection of Prohibited Art').[15]

The painting has become a symbol of struggle and pride for some in the Mexican LGBTQ community.[6]

La venida del Señor

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A crowd gathers at a protest
Protesters gather at the entrance of the Academy of San Carlos in support of Cháirez's exhibit La venida del Señor after it was suspended (7 March 2025)
Fabián Cháirez speaks to a crowd at a protest
Cháirez (right) speaking to a crowd at the protest (7 March 2025)

Cháirez's 2025 exhibition La venida del Señor – lit. 'The Coming of the Lord': a double entendre that works in both languages[16] – at the Academy of San Carlos of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) was composed of nine large oil paintings created between 2018 and 2023. He stated that the works were produced to draw "comparison[s] between religious ecstasy and sexual ecstasy".[17] Most of the paintings involved same-sex pairs fully clothed in traditional Catholic religious attire in homoerotic poses.[18]

It faced backlash from some religious groups due to its religious subjects – nuns, priests, angels – and suggestive nature.[3] The Association of Christian Lawyers (Asociación de Abogados Cristianos, AAC) filed a complaint against Cháirez with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED), alleging his work violated the Mexican Constitution's Article 24 that protects religious freedom. On 14 February 2025, a group of Catholics disapproving of the works organized a sit-in in front of the San Carlos Academy.[19] Five days later, protesters entered the building and staged a faux closure of a portion of the exhibit with caution tape and signs.[20]

On 3 March 2025, federal judge Francisco Javier Rebolledo Peña granted the AAC a temporary suspension order against the exhibit, giving the UNAM 24 hours to enforce it. As a result, the show was suspended. A hearing was also set for 11 March to determine whether to grant a permanent suspension. Cháirez rebuked the suspension as censorship stemming from intolerance and called for protests in support of artistic freedom.[17][18] He organized a demonstration on the university's campus on 7 March, where he spoke to a crowd of supporters.[21]

On 13 March 2025, Rebolledo Peña rejected the AAC's request to indefinitely suspend the exhibit[22] and Cháirez announced plans to open his exhibit again, possibly at other venues in Mexico City.[23] On 2 April 2025, the exhibition was displayed at the Museum of Mexico City, where it was renamed La segunda venida del Señor – lit. 'The Second Coming of the Lord'. It was suspended a few days later under the directive of the Sixth District Court in Administrative Matters in Mexico City.[24]

Works and exhibitions

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Works

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Name Medium Date Ref.
La Revolución Oil paint 2014 [1]
El sueño Oil paint 2013 [25]
Del que pica Oil paint 2016 [26]
La venida del Señor Oil paint 2018 [3]
Caricias a Herrán Oil paint 2020 [2]
Transverberación Bronze sculpture 2021 [27]

Solo exhibitions

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Name Location Date Ref.
Lolitos Galería La Dolorosa (San Cristóbal de las Casas) 2010 [4]
Corazón de quinceañera University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas 2012
Invisible Galería Hazme el milagrito (CDMX) 2013
El Jardín de las delicias Jose Maria Velasco Gallery, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura 2015 [28]
Deliquios masculinos Galería CONACULTA (Tuxtla Gutiérrez) 2016 [29]
La floración de las suculentas Imaginart Gallery (Barcelona) 2021 [30]
Other Colors Mexican Art Society (London) [31]
El Vergel Estación Zócalo/Tenochtitlan 2022
Las Plumas Ardiendo al Vuelo Museo La Neomudejar (Madrid) 2023
La inocencia de las bestias Museo Universitario del Chopo 7–30 June 2024 [2][32]
La venida del Señor Academy of San Carlos February–March 2025 [33]

Multi-artist exhibitions

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Name Location Date Ref.
Royal Talents Museo Soumaya 2015 [31]
Emiliano: Zapata después de Zapata Palacio de Bellas Artes 27 November 2019 – 16 February 2020 [34]
LOVE Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum 2022 [31]
Imaginaciones radicales Museo de Arte Moderno 2023 [35]
Amexica Institut Culturel du Mexique (Paris) [31]
Visites Inesperades Fundació Vila Casas

References

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  1. ^ a b "Fabián Cháirez". Museu de l'art Prohibit. Archived from the original on 13 October 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aceves, Évolet (21 July 2024). "Fabián Cháirez, el pintor más incómodo de México" [Fabián Cháirez, the most uncomfortable painter of México]. Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Artist Fabián Cháirez again courts controversy with latest CDMX exhibit". Mexico News Daily. 6 February 2025. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Fabián Cháirez". La Llorona Gallery. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b "The Provocative and Risqué Rise of Painter Fabian Cháirez". The New York Observer. 26 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b Mancini, Nicolás (30 April 2024). "Fabián Cháirez, el creador del símbolo gay que buena parte de México no quiere que veas: "Recibí amenazas masivas"" [Fabián Cháirez, the creator of the gay symbol that much of Mexico doesn't want you to see: I received massive threats.]. Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 February 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  7. ^ Daly, Rhian (25 August 2023). "Mon Laferte Adds A Latin Twist To Trip-Hop On 'Tenochtitlan'". uDiscover Music. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  8. ^ "Interview with Fabian Chairez". Frida Voices (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 October 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Donohue, Caitlin (29 April 2020). "The Pin-Up Revolutionary". Open Space, SFMOMA. Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  10. ^ a b Villarreal, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Farmers are rioting over a "gay" painting on display at a museum". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  11. ^ a b Cascone, Sarah (11 December 2019). "Protesters Storm a Mexico Museum Over a Painting That Depicts Revolutionary Hero Emiliano Zapata Nude". Artnet News. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  12. ^ "In Mexico, effeminate Zapata painting draws fury". AP News. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 March 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  13. ^ a b Copeland, Cody (14 December 2019). "LGBTI community joins artist for demonstration over Zapata painting". Mexico News Daily. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  14. ^ ""¡Zapata vive, la lucha sigue!", grito LGBTI contra censura en Bellas Artes" ["Zapata lives!", the fight goes on, LGBTI cry out against censorship in Fine Arts]. El Universal (in Spanish). 14 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Un empresario español compra la obra de Zapata desnudo" [A Spanish entrepreneur buys Zapata's work naked]. Verne (in Mexican Spanish). 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  16. ^ ""La venida del Señor": así es la polémica obra en la UNAM con doble sentido" [The coming of the Lord: this is the controversial work in UNAM with double meaning]. El Diario de Yucatán. 7 February 2025. Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Orden judicial suspende la exposición "La Venida del Señor" en San Carlos; artista denuncia censura" [Court order suspends the exhibition "The Coming of the Lord" in San Carlos; artist denounces censorship]. Proceso (in Spanish). 5 March 2025. Archived from the original on 9 April 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  18. ^ a b Aragon, Kevin (5 March 2025). "Fabian Chairez acusa censura en contra de su polémica exposición "La venida del señor"" [Fabián Cháirez accuses censorship against his controversial exhibition The Coming of the Lord.]. El Sol de México (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 April 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  19. ^ Álvarez, Mariana (20 February 2025). "Así es "La Venida del Señor", la nueva polémica exposición del artista Fabián Cháirez en la UNAM" [That's "The Coming of the Lord", the new controversial exhibition of the artist Fabián Cháirez at UNAM]. infobae (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  20. ^ Nayyar, Rhea (20 February 2025). "Suggestive Portraits of Queer Priests and Nuns Spark Fury in Mexico". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on 25 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  21. ^ "La venida del Señor. "¡Victoria!": Tras intento de censura, Fabián Cháirez podrá exhibir nuevamente su obra en San Carlos" [The coming of the Lord. "Victory!": After attempt to censor, Fabián Cháirez will be able to exhibit his work again in San Carlos]. La Izquierda Diario - Red internacional (in Spanish). 13 March 2025. Archived from the original on 14 March 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Fabián Cháirez free to exhibit 'The Coming of the Lord,' after Catholic groups lose legal bid". Mexico News Daily. 13 March 2025. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  23. ^ "El artista Fabián Cháirez volverá a exhibir 'La venida del señor' en CDMX" [Artist Fabián Cháirez will exhibit again The Coming of the Lord at CDMX]. Forbes México (in Spanish). 14 March 2025. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  24. ^ Rivera, Niza (17 April 2025). "Suspenden, otra vez, la exposición 'La segunda venida del señor', de Fabián Cháirez" [Again, the exhibition "The Second Coming of the Lord" by Fabián Cháirez is suspended]. Proceso. Archived from the original on 20 April 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  25. ^ "2013". Fabian Cháirez. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  26. ^ "2016". Fabian Cháirez. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  27. ^ "2022". Fabian Cháirez. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  28. ^ "Fabián Cháirez explora en El jardín de las delicias la femineidad del cuerpo masculino" [Fabián Cháirez explores in The Garden of Delights the femininity of the male body]. Government of Mexico (in Spanish). 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  29. ^ Mendoza, Darwin (8 October 2016). "Cuerpos masculinos con poses femeninas" [Male bodies with female poses]. Cuarto Poder (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  30. ^ "Fabián Cháirez: La floración de las suculentas". Imaginart Gallery. Archived from the original on 9 March 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  31. ^ a b c d "Exhibitions". Fabian Cháirez. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  32. ^ "Artes visuales del Museo Universitario del Chopo" [Visual arts of the Chopo University Museum]. Museo Universitario del Chopo. 7 February 2025. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  33. ^ ""La venida del señor", la polémica obra que se expone en la UNAM" ["The Coming of The Lord", the controversial work on display at UNAM]. La Crónica de Hoy México (in Spanish). 7 February 2025. Archived from the original on 25 May 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  34. ^ "Del culto al mito" [From the cult of the myth]. El Heraldo de México (in Spanish). 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  35. ^ "El Museo de Arte Moderno presenta Imaginaciones radicales, una aproximación a su acervo con una perspectiva de género" [The Museum of Modern Art presents radical imaginations, an approximation to its heritage with a gender perspective]. Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (in Spanish). 24 March 2023. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
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