Abraham Cruzvillegas's oeuvre, whether it is performative, sculptural or pictorial, is an expression of human reality: unstable, raw, unpredictable but also powerful, evolving and energetic. A guiding tenet in the work of Abraham Cruzvillegas is the idea of Autoconstrucción, inspired by his experiences of living in the Ajusco district of Mexico City where he grew up. Through recycling and adapting materials for unconventional purposes, he creates works which are also metaphorically based on the processes by which we build our identities.

“I am trying to get rid of myself and my own experiences, who I am, who I think I am and where I come from. Autoconstrucción is about people, communities constructing together, sharing, exchanging. It’s all about togetherness. It’s about being with local communities and learning from local people. Abraham Cruzvillegas (extract of « Go ahead, touch the art at Abraham Cruzvillegas’s Aspen Art Museum show » by Andrew Travers in The Aspen Times, 24 octobre 2019).

Abraham Cruzvillegas always incorporates elements of life into his work, whether it is a musical performance (The Water Trilogy, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris ; Fondation d'Entreprise Hermès, Tokyo ; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2017), a dance performed on top of an installation (Carré d'Art, Nîmes, 2016), bulbs of plants that rot or sprout during an exhibition (Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, 2010), blocks of soil in which various plants start to grow over time (Tate Modern, London, 2015).

Abraham Cruzvillegas studied pedagogy at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City while attending Gabriel Orozco’s Taller de los viernes. He was the fifth laureate of the Yanghyun Prize, he received the Prix Altadis d'arts plastiques as well as the Hyundai Commission in 2015.

Selected recent solo shows include: Winsing Arts Foundation, Taipei City (2023); Les Tanneries - Centre d'art contemporain, Amilly (2022); The Bass, Miami Beach's Contemporary Art Museum (2020); Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2019); The Kitchen, New York (2018); Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich (2018); Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London (2015); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2014); Museo Jumex, Mexico City (2014); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2013); Modern Art Oxford, Oxford (2011); CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco (2009).

His work has also been presented in major Biennials and group exhibitions: among others Kode Museum, Bergen, Allemagne (2022) ; The Guangzhou Image Triennial 2021, Guangdong Museum of Art, China (2021) ; Wexner Center of the Arts, Ohio, U.S.A. (2021) ; Boghossian Foundation, Villa Empain, Brussels (2020); Musée d’art Moderne de Paris (2019); MAXXI Museo, Rome (2019); Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City (2018); LACMA, Los Angeles (2017); Palazzo delle Zattere, Venice (2017); Jewish Museum, New York (2015); Sharjah Biennal 12 (2015); Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam (2013); dOCUMENTA 13 (2012); 9th Gwangju Biennal (2012); Contemporay Art San Diego (2011); Bienal of la Habana (2009); New Museum, New York (2007).

His work was acquired by numerous collections including Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich; Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Carré d'art, Nîmes; MUZEUM, Museum of modern Art, Warsaw; The Jewish Museum, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; CNAP, Paris, among others.