Mauricio Zuniga

Born in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, Mauricio Zúñiga crossed borders at a very young age. At thirteen, he moved to Chicago — a city shaped by steel, urban art and cultural diversity. Early on, the boy everyone called Mo developed a singular gaze, nourished both by his Mexican roots and the artistic effervescence of North America. Curious and sensitive, he wandered through galleries before daring to forge his own path.

What sets him apart? A living, raw, almost telluric material. Plaster, varnish, interior acrylic paint… Mo Zúñiga draws his materials from the world of construction, as if building the world began first with the hand, the wall, the texture. On the canvas, these elements acquire an almost archaeological resonance. They sculpt, scratch, carve, hold the viewer’s gaze. His works are meant to be touched as much as they are seen.

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A transversal artist, Zúñiga blends Cubism with Surrealism — two visual languages that seem opposed, yet he fuses them with ease. True to his hybrid and fully assumed approach, his paintings are sensory explorations. The eye perceives fragments, dreams, shattered figures, while the hand seeks texture and irregularities. “My goal is for art to become part of the viewer. I invite them to touch the work to connect with it, to claim it,” he explains. This direct, almost tactile approach turns each piece into an experience both intimate and immersive.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, where he is represented by an art gallery, Mauricio Zúñiga has become a respected figure in the local art scene. For more than fifteen years, he has been an active volunteer at the Kansas City Art Council, supporting emerging talent through the Now Show program. He has also served as curator for the Fiesta Hispana exhibitions — an event organized by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a major celebration of Latino-American culture.

His works have been exhibited in several renowned galleries in Kansas City, including The Late Show Gallery, brandonjacobs gallery, and the Grand Gallery. He received the ArtsKC Virtuoso Award in 2015, and was later named Outstanding Artist in 2021 during the Binational Mexican Artists Day in the United States.

Committed, accessible, and deeply rooted in his values, Mauricio Zúñiga offers a material and poetic form of art — a living, inhabited painting where one can feel the heartbeat of origins. Between structure and dream, he builds a language that speaks to everyone: to sight, to touch, to memory. To those who still know that art is something to be lived as much as it is to be seen.

 

TESTIMONIALS

We love Mauricio’s work because it’s joyful and full of life. The colors are so vibrant — they immediately draw you in. And the more time you spend admiring his art, the more new details you’ll discover that you hadn’t noticed before.

Brian Bell

I appreciate Mauricio’s work because it’s filled with incredible colors and energy. It’s dramatic enough to capture your attention, and then holds it with exceptional creative imagery throughout the entire piece.

Tim Fischer