Gabriel Orozco (b. 1962, Jalapa, Mexico) is a contemporary artist known for his conceptual and boundary-defying approach to sculpture, photography, painting, and installation. Blending everyday objects with poetic gestures, Orozco transforms the ordinary into the unexpected, inviting viewers to find beauty and meaning in overlooked spaces. His work is often minimal, playful, and imbued with a quiet philosophical depth.
Orozco first gained international recognition in the 1990s with works like La DS (1993), a Citroën car sliced and reassembled into an elegant, impossibly narrow form. This early piece exemplifies his interest in transformation, balance, and spatial logic. His practice is informed by movement—both physical and conceptual—as he frequently draws inspiration from his travels and the urban environments he inhabits.
Photography plays a central role in Orozco’s practice, particularly his spontaneous snapshots of found arrangements, subtle interventions, or ephemeral moments. These images reflect his attentiveness to chance and his sensitivity to rhythm, form, and context. In painting, he explores geometric abstraction, using circles and systems to create meditative compositions rooted in both structure and spontaneity.
Printmaking is another important part of his oeuvre. Working in various graphic media, Orozco adapts his visual language of balance, geometry, and organic form into prints that echo the conceptual clarity and elegance of his larger works.
Gabriel Orozco has exhibited widely at major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Tate Modern (London), and the Centre Pompidou (Paris), and represented Mexico at the Venice Biennale. Despite his international success, Orozco resists commodification and often works outside of traditional studio systems, preferring a nomadic, idea-driven practice.
