Enrique Chagoya

American, born in Mexico, 1953

BiographyBorn in Mexico City in 1953, Enrique Chagoya moved to the United States in 1977, where he later became an art professor at Stanford University. Chagoya’s works navigate loaded cultural elements from north and south of the border, combining iconography from Pre-Columbian traditions, Catholicism, and popular culture. Similar to earlier graphic artists such as Honoré Daumier, Francisco de Goya, and José Guadalupe Posada, Chagoya employs humor and satire to address complex social and political issues.

In Chagoya’s works, the history of the European conquest of the Americas is superseded by a new form of imperialism: the prevalence of United States consumer culture. This cultural colonialism is suggested by recurrent images of iconic North American celebrities and products, such as Elvis, Mickey Mouse, and Coca-Cola.