José Luis Cuevas: Letters from Paris

Art Windsor-Essex is proud to present a selection of works by José Luis Cuevas (1934–2017) from our collection. These pieces come from a large group of illustrated letters exchanged between the artist and his California-based art dealer. Cuevas wrote them while living in self-imposed exile in France between 1976 and 1979.

José Luis Cuevas is an internationally recognized artist with works in many major museums. Still, he had an uneasy relationship with the art world in his home country of Mexico. These letters, written from Paris as he prepared for his first major solo show in Mexico City, show a more personal side of this outspoken artist. As his gallerist José M. Tasende explains: “In them the man I have known for more than fifteen years is revealed, a Cuevas who is retiring, tender, tolerant, generous and supplied with an enormous sense of humour that doesn’t fail him even in his worst moments.”

Cuevas’ 1979 solo exhibition, Return of Another Prodigal Son, earned him greater critical acclaim and led him back to Mexico City, where he spent the rest of his life. These intimate works offer a valuable contrast to the bold and confident pieces in Return of Another Prodigal Son, showing the private journey of a still-controversial artist at an important moment in his career.