Works of Master Printmaker NicolaÌs de JesuÌs on Display at the Frick Center Through Oct. 3

The work of NicolaÌs de JesuÌs, an internationally known master printmaker from Mexico whose work speaks to the struggles of indigenous peoples, will be featured in Elmhurst College’s annual Hispanic Heritage Exhibition at the Frick Center through Oct. 3.

De JesuÌs traveled from his home in Chiapas, Mexico, to attend the opening reception for his exhibition Thursday, Sept. 20.

De JesuÌs is a full-blooded Nahua Indian who descends from a long line of artisans. He is a defender of the rights of indigenous peoples, and the themes of struggle and celebration constantly inform his work. Many of his etchings feature skeletons, or calaveras, playing out the human comedy. This form of social satire dates back to the 19th century and was made popular by the famous Mexican printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posada.

De JesuÌs is the greatest living exponent of this form. He produces his etchings on papel amates, a bark paper local to the Puebla region of Mexico.

De JesusÌ maintained a studio in Chicago, where he lived from 1989 to 1994, and has exhibited in various cultural centers in Chicago and other parts of the United States, as well as in Mexico, France, England, Japan and Holland.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Suellen Rocca at (630) 617-6110 or srocca@elmhurst.edu.

Information provided by Elmhurst College.