Chelo (Consuelo) González Amézcua

Born in 1903 Piedras Negras, Mexico ~ Died 1975 Del Rio, Texas

Chelo was a visionary, self-taught artist and poet well known for intricate filigree drawings which bridged Mexican folk traditions, spiritual symbolism, and personal mythology. Though she spent most of her life in quiet anonymity she later gained recognition which placed her among the most remarkable outsider and visionary artists of 20th Century America.

Chelo was born on June 13 in Piedras Negras, a border town in northern Mexico. In 1913 her family emigrated to Del Rio, Texas, settling there permanently. Though her family lived modestly, they placed strong value on education and creativity. Chelo attended school for six years but received no formal art training. In 1932, she was awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious San Carlos Academy in Mexico City, an opportunity that she sadly had to decline after the death of her father. Despite these constraints, Chelo never abandoned her artistic and spiritual pursuits. As well as her art she avidly wrote poetry and had a passion for music. After the death of her mother, she remained in the family home and did not marry, dedicating her life to art. 

In the 1960s, when, already in her late fifties, she began creating the elaborate pen-and-ink drawings for which she is now best known. These artworks, often made with nothing more than a black ballpoint pen and colored inks on cardboard, could take weeks to complete. Chelo referred to them as ‘filigree drawings’, a nod to the intricate Mexican jewellery she admired. The flowing, repetitive patterns filled entire pages with complex designs. A cornucopia of birds, flowers, hands, starry skies, mythical kings, spiritual figures and regal women all immersed in a combination of organic and geometric ornamentation. The automatic quality of her drawing technique, close in spirit to mediumistic drawing links her to broader traditions of spiritual and visionary art.While visually mesmerizing, Chelo’s art also served as a vehicle for philosophical, mystical, and autobiographical expression. She called them “mental drawings,” and often created them in tandem with her own poetry. Her verses—written in Spanish and English—meditated on science, astronomy, art, love, and God, with drawings sometimes inspiring poems and vice versa. She described herself simply: “I was always a dreamer, and I am still painting my dream visions.”

Her first exhibitions took place in the United States and Mexico in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but Chelo never sought fame, nor did she profit significantly from her art. She was known locally as a kind and joyful woman fond of singing, dancing, walking in nature, and sharing her creations. 

Selected Exhibitions:
2014 ~ The Visionary Experience: Saint Francis to Finster ~ American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore
2013 ~ Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection ~ Philadelphia Museum of Art
2012 ~ Accidental Genius: Art from the Anthony Petullo Collection ~ Milwaukee Art Musuem
2010 ~ Perspectives: Forming the Figure ~ American Folk Art Museum, New York
2009 ~ Approaching Abstraction ~ American Folk Art Museum, New York
2008 ~ The Message ~ Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany
2002 ~ Wonderland: Visionary Drawings by Chelo González Amezcua ~ Meadows School of the Arts, Dallas
2002 ~ Manos Aladas: Drawings By Chelo González Amézcua ~ Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York
1999 ~ Art Spirite Mediumnique Visionnaire: Messages D’autre-Monde, Halle St. Pierre, Paris
1997 ~ Spirited Journeys: Self-Taught Texas Artists of the Twentieth Century ~ Huntington Gallery, University of Texas, Austin
1997 ~ A Labor of Love ~ The New Museum, New York
1995 ~ Tree of Life, Inaugural show for The American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore
1990 ~ Mysteries: 10 Gallery Artists ~ Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York
1988 ~ The Latin American Spirit ~ Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York
1977 ~ Consuelo González Amézcua: Filigree Art ~ Galerias Paco, New York
1974 ~ 20th Century Women in Texas Art ~ Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas
1968 ~ Filigree Drawings by Consuelo González Amézcua ~ Marion Koegler McNay Art Institute, Texas