Gunther Gerzso

biography

Gunther Gerzso (17 June, 1915 - 21 April, 2000)

Gunther Gerzso was born in Mexico City just, shortly before the start of the Mexican Revolution. As a child, Gerzso moved to Europe, and lived with his uncle, who had a large collection of European art, including works by Pierre Bondard and Rembrandt.

During his time living in Europe, Gunther Gerzso met artist Paul Klee and Nando Tamberlani, a well known set designer who introduced Gunther to the world of theatre and set design.

Upon returning to Mexico years later, Gunther Gerzso worked in theatre, helping with set design and and writing scripts for plays before receiving a scholarship to attend classes at the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio (USA). Within a short period of time Gerzso was able to make a name for himself as a set designer, collaborating with well known directors and winning a numerous awards for his craft.

In the 1930’s Gerzso began painting as a hobby, that eventually caused him to quite working in theatre and focus all of his time as an artist: painting, printmaking and sculpting. He moved back to Mexico City in 1941 and became associated with the surrealist movement of the time in Mexico, working and befriending artists such as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo.

Gerzso was awarded the Guggenheim fellowship in 1973 and is considered to this day to be one of the greatest Latin American painters of the 21st century.

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