Porfirio Gutiérrez

Porfirio Gutiérrez (b. 1978) is a California-based, Zapotec artist and activist whose richly patterned textile works are informed by a marriage of his cultural heritage and an exploration of modernist principles. Embracing the traditions of the Cloud People, or Zapotecs who have lived in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico for over two centuries, the artist works with material sourced directly from the earth, informed both by his childhood as a shepherd and his upbringing learning weaving and dyeing techniques from his parents. Gutiérrez’s palette is determined by the varied flora which populates his homeland, including pericón, or Mexican tarragon, for yellow; marush, a native Oaxacan plant, for green; huizache, a tree whose pods and bark make black; and añil, a local shrub which produces a rich indigo dye. Also central to his practice is the vivid scarlet derived from cochineal insects which are harvested, dried, and ground on a metate. Acutely aware of nature’s constant flux, Gutiérrez makes record of the exact period a plant is harvested for dyes, which he calls a “seasonal imprint”, noting that the color gleaned from a specific plant or insect will vary in vibrancy as the effects of climate change continue to be felt.

In 2023, the artist’s work was the subject of a solo exhibition, Continuous Line/Cosmos, Chinati Foundation, Marfa (TX). Gutiérrez’s work has also been included in numerous significant group exhibitions in recent years, including We Live in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art, LACMA, Los Angeles (CA) in 2024; Sangre de Nopal, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles (CA) in 2024; Temporary Spaces, Mingei International Museum, San Diego (CA) in 2024; Weaving at Black Mountain College, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville (NC) in 2023; and Origins, Sharjah Institute (UAE) in 2023, among others.

Gutiérrez’s work has been acquired by a number of public collections, including the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge (MA); LACMA, Los Angeles (CA); and The National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., among others.