Hugo Crosthwaite, Mural Performance IN MEMORIAM: Cuenca, 2016, acrylic paint and pencil on wall; . Created at the Cuenca Bienal in Ecuador, 95″x400″
Hugo Crosthwaite
My name is Hugo Crosthwaite. I’m a visual artist native to the San Diego/Tijuana border region. My primary artistic practice is figurative drawing.The narratives in my drawing explore social issues and mythologies about the U.S./México border.
I was born in Tijuana, México and grew up in Playas de Rosarito, Baja California and the city of San Diego. My father was an American citizen, so I grew up on both sides of the international border. My parents owned a Curios shop in Playas de Rosarito that sold Mexican crafts to American Tourists. It was in this rich visual environment that I first started my drawing practice. I graduated from San Diego State University in 1997 with a BA degree in Applied Arts and Sciences.
My artist career spans 21 years with solo and group exhibitions that have been presented throughout the State of California, the United States, México and Europe.
In 2019, I was awarded First Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC for the fifth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, American Portraiture Today. My prize-winning stop-motion drawing animation, A Portrait of Berenice Sarmiento Chávez (2018), recounts a woman’s journey from Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States in pursuit of the American dream. The story within the animation highlights the disenfranchisement of women and immigrants, the dangers of illegal immigration and the courage of people as they pursue their right for a better life.
A partial list of my solo exhibitions includes: Tijuas! at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (2019), Tijuana Bibles at Pierogi Brooklyn (2018), Residency at Mana Contemporary Chicago (2016); Tijuana Radiant Shine at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (2015); Tijuanerias at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (2012); and Brutal Beauty at the San Diego Museum of Art (2010).
My work has been included in numerous collective exhibitions throughout the United States and Mexico. Most recently: American Portraiture Today (2019) National Portrait Gallery, 20 Diálogos de Pintores Contemporáneos (2018) El Museo de Arte de Querétaro, The House on Mango Street (2015) National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, 2013 California-Pacific Triennial at the Orange County Museum of Art and Strange New World at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art (2006).