RAiR | 1972-73

Luis Jiménez †

Born in El Paso to immigrant parents, Luis Jiménez’s (1940-2006) interest in art was inspired from his early days working with his father, a notable sign-maker who gained national recognition for his design work. Jiménez later studied in Texas, in Mexico City, and privately with the sculptor Seymour Lipton in New York. He had his first solo show in New York in 1969 and later held shows at several distinguished galleries, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Marsha Mateyka Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Albuquerque Museum. In 1972, Jiménez heard of the Roswell Artist-in-Residency program and wrote to apply. Upon receiving no answer, he packed up his father’s work truck and drove to Roswell. Appearing unexpectedly at Don Anderson’s front door, Jiménez impressed him so much that he bought a sculpture and offered him a RAiR grant. Luis Jiménez told this story in The Roswell Artist-In-Residence Program: An Anecdotal History by Ann McGarrell: 

“...I’m the artist; I talked to you on the phone,” I said. “I’m not interested,” Don replied. I said, “You haven’t even seen the work!” He looked at the slides, and he saw the pieces I had on the truck. He said, “This is good work.” I told him what I wanted to do, that I needed about five thousand dollars to cast the big piece, that I had the promise of a teaching job at New Paltz and I’d be good for it, that he could have any of the work minus the dealer’s percentage…He asked me to call back in two weeks, and I did. That was how I was invited into the residency, through the back door.

Jiménez remained at the Roswell compound for six years, during which time he kindled a friendship with the Andersons. He received private and public art commissions throughout his professional life and taught at both the University of Arizona and the University of Houston. He enjoyed toying with conceptions of what signifies “fine art,” purposefully crafting an intense, plasticky finish in his sculptures. Jiménez is celebrated as an artist of the Chicano/a Movement who tackled topics such as the dehumanization of undocumented immigrants and the erasure of Mexican-Americans from American history. One article from Hyperallergic describes:

Indeed, Jiménez’s careful attention to human musculature, movement, and balance recalls the work of Rodin and Greek sculpture, and he was also a master draftsman. Dynamic drawings and prints record Jiménez’s uncanny ability to capture the figure in motion, but they also register his commitment to representing his community on its own terms.

Tragically, he was killed in an accident that occurred while working on his largest sculpture, “Mustang,” at the age of 65. Organized by Jiménez’s family, several artists worked to complete the sculpture, and it now resides prominently at Denver International Airport. His works are included among the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the National Museum of American Art, among many others. The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art displays a large selection of his artwork.