Hugo Crosthwaite
[Image description: A black and white headshot of Hugo, who wears a dark shirt and smiles gently at the camera.]
Born in Tijuana in 1971, Hugo Crosthwaite grew up in the coastal town of Rosarito, Baja California, 10 miles south of the international border. A graduate of San Diego State University in 1997 with a BA in Applied Arts and Sciences, Crosthwaite is a draftsman, often using pencil or charcoal, who focuses on the figure. He works in a linear fashion, allowing drawings to develop with great detail. All the work is created with improvisation; narratives developing as works are created.
Crosthwaite combines portraiture, comic book references, urban signage, commercial facades, and mythology in dense, layered compositions. Working primarily in black and white Crosthwaite brings characters from allegory and popular media to the stage of the human condition, interacting with the architecture of Tijuana and dreams of the border. The work reflects the character of frenetic urban settings, a border in flux. Fear, hope, pain and celebration are represented together as Crosthwaite elevates the ordinary person to heroic levels showing the trials they endure while surviving in contemporary society.
A partial list of solo exhibitions include: Tijuas! Death March, Tijuana Bibles and Other Legends at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (2019), Tijuana Bibles at Pierogi Brooklyn (2018), Residency at Mana Contemporary in Chicago (2016); Tijuana Radiant Shine featuring Shattered Mural at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (2015); Carniviorall at Pierogi Brooklyn (2012); Tijuanerias at Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (2012); Drawing Theresa at Noel-Baza Fine Art (2010); and Brutal Beauty at the San Diego Museum of Art (2010) where the artist completed a monumental drawing entitled A Tail for Two Cities over a two-week period in the museum's gallery.
Read about his work on HereIn: