Enrique Fuentes Avila (born in Mexico) is an Austrian painter. He lives and works in Vienna and Berlin.
Life Enrique Fuentes grew up in Mexico until he travelled to Europe in 1998, aged 17, and settled down in Paris. From 1999 to 2000, he attended the École nationale supérieure d’arts in Paris Cergy. In 2001, he was accepted at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris where he studied in the master class of Jean-Michel Alberola until 2007. From 2004 to 2005, he interrupted his studies in France for an artistic residency in Tokyo during which he dedicated himself to calligraphy and graphic art In 2006, he attended the Salzburg Summer Academy of Arts under Guillaume Bijl. From 2008 until 2009, he completed a “Post-Diplôme” programme at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris. From 2005 until 2011, he worked as personal assistant to the Austrian painter Arnulf Rainer at the latter’s studio on Tenerife.
In 2009, Fuentes married Clara Rainer, Arnulf Rainer’s daughter; the marriage lasted until 2011. During the following years, Fuentes worked with Austrian action artist Günter Brus. The results from that collaboration were presented at numerous exhibitions. Since 2010, Enrique Fuentes has been living in Vienna and Berlin; in 2022, he was granted Austrian citizenship. His art is presented in galleries and museums in Austria, Germany, France, Spain, and Mexico. In 2019 and 2020, three museums in San Luis Potosí (Mexico) dedicated a comprehensive retrospective to him, honouring his 40th birthday, which coincided with his 20th artist anniversary; the retrospective was titled “40° 20’ Enrique Fuentes”.
Work
Fuentes engages regularly with literature, poetry, history, and music and incorporates this engagement in his creative process. His works appear to be abstract; however, he describes them as narrations in which he deals with various subject matters. He prefers to work in large formats, painting with a brush or using his bare hands, or he pours the paint directly unto the support, thus creating expressive imagery
At the beginning of his artistic career, he was influenced by American Abstract Expressionism. During his study years, French art became another influence. Later, engaging with Austrian artists Arnulf Rainer and Günter Brus became formative for his further artistic development. Together with Brus, a proponent of Viennese Actionism, Fuentes created graphic cycles such as “Catrina die Große” (Catrina the Great) and “Goya”, among other pieces.
In 2020, Fuentes created the logo of the campaign “Kunst und Sport gegen Rassismus” (arts and sports against racism) of the Antidiskriminierungsstelle Steiermark (Styrian anti-discrimination office). His wing design was printed on sports jerseys to make a mark against racism and discrimination; it was worn especially by children‘s and adolescents‘ football teams but also by Austrian celebrities.
In 2022, Fuentes created the cycle “Via Crucis”, Stations of the Cross, the final station being the oil painting “Die Auferstehung” (the Resurrection) measuring nine by four meters. The hexapartite, monumental work was exhibited in the Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) in Vienna where it obscured the main altar during Advent 2022
Exhibitions
Solo shows (selection) Sources:
2026 Enrique Fuentes. Cooperari, galerie art moments, Vienna, Austria 2025 Tide - Gezeiten, Schütz Art Museum, Engelhartszell, Austria 2024 Enrique Fuentes, Château de Monboucher, Lamonzie-Saint-Martin, France 2023 The Forest – Monboucher, Galeria HMH, Port d’Andratx, Spain 2022 Enrique Fuentes: Via Crucis, Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), Vienna, Austria 2022 Requiem II, galerie art moments, Vienna, Austria 2021 Cosmos, galerie art moments, Graz, Austria 2019 Enrique Fuentes. 40° 20‘ Latitud, Museo Centenario, San Luis Potosí, Mexico 2019 Nueva Lotería Mexicana, Museo Francisco Cossío, San Luis Potosí, Mexico 2019 Enrique Fuentes. Piezas del Mes, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo MAC, San Luis Potosí, Mexico 2018 Atlas Obscuro, Novomatic Forum in cooperation with galerie art moments, Vienna, Austria 2018 Aaren-Klonrotor, Museum Leonora Carrington, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Austria 2015 Die Blumen des Bösen/Las flores del mal, Mexikanisches Kulturinstitut in Wien/Instituto Cultural de Mexico en Viena, Vienna, Austria 2015 Nueva Lotería Mexicana, La maestranza, Villa de la paz, San Luis Potosí, Mexico 2014 Der Tod ist ein Hysteriker (death is a hysteric) – Fuentes/Brus, Galerie Trapp, Salzburg, Austria 2013 Etwas Unmenschliches (something inhuman), Kunsthaus Weiz, Weiz, Austria 2012 Einheit der Zwietracht (unity of discord) – Enrique Fuentes/Günter Brus, Galerie Gölles, Fürstenfeld, Austria 2011 Dunkle Energie (dark energy) – Enrique Fuentes/Günter Brus, Galerie Kunst & Handel, Graz, Austria 2010 Schlafwandeln (sleepwalking), Galerie Ulysses, Vienna, Austria 2009 Variaciones (variations), Museo de Arte, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico 2008 Instante cualquiera (any moment), Museo de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico 2007 Intervalo (interval), Museo Francisco Cossío, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Group shows (selection) Sources:
2026 Exposición Colectiva de Collage (collective collage exhibition), Museo Vizcaínas, Mexico City, Mexico 2025 Gott und Geld (God and money), Museum Stift Klosterneuburg (Klosterneuburg monastry museum), Klosterneuburg, Austria 2021 TR3INTA Y S6IS, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de San Luis Potosí, Mexico 2019 Günter Brus & Enrique Fuentes – „Todschwarze Aufzeichnungen“ (death-black notes), Hofgalerie Steiermarkhof, Graz, Austria 2017 Art on Paper, Kunsthaus Weiz, Weiz, Austria 2015 Compassion, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany 2015 Koschatzky Award, MUMOK, Vienna, Austria 2013 Catrina die Große (Catrina the Great), Galerie Sommer, Graz, Austria 2012 Zusammenwerken – Zusammenwirken. Gemeinschaftsarbeiten von Günter Brus mit Künstlerfreunden seit 1970 (collaboration – interaction. Works created by Günter Brus together with artist friends since 1970), Neue Galerie Graz, Graz, Austria 2009 Jadite Gallery, New York, USA
Works in collections and museums
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, San Luis Potosí, Mexico Schütz Art Museum, Engelhartszell, Austria Chateau de Monboucher, France
Literature
Enrique Fuentes & Marion Fischer (2023): Via Crucis. art moments. Antonio García Acosta (Ed.) (2020). 40° 20‘ Enrique Fuentes. Veinte años de trayectoría. Gobierno del Estado de San Luis Potosí, Secretaría de la Cultura de San Luis Potosí, Centro de las Artes de San Luis Potosí, Museo Leonora Carrington San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí: Colección Panoptilon. With essays by Eudoro Fonseca Yerena, Antonio García Acosta, Silvia del Carmen Rodríguez Solís, Ofelia Zacarías Díaz Infante, Aldo Arellano Paredes, David Eduardo Vázquez Salguero, Nikolaus Schaffer, Laure Jaumoillé, Walter Kratner, Günter Brus, Florian Steininger. Johann Baumgartner (Ed.) (2019). Todschwarze Aufzeichnungen. Günter Brus - Enrique Fuentes. Steiermarkhof - das Kultur- und Bildungszentrum der Landwirtschaftskammer Steiermark. Enrique Fuentes & Marion Fischer (2018). Atlas obscuro. Novomatic Forum.
Videos
Atelierbesuch bei Enrique Fuentes (a visit to the studio of Enrique Fuentes), Art News Portrait, written by Patrick Schuster, directed by Osama Rasheed Enrique Fuentes „Via Crucis – Der Kreuzweg“, Stephansdom/St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna Interview with Enrique Fuentes on the occasion of the Latitudes 40° 20‘ exhibitions in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, CRM Noticias
External links
Literature on Enrique Fuentes in the catalogue of the Austrian National Library Artists in Residence: Enrique Fuentes at the Schütz Art Museum, Engelhartszell Artist portrait, list of exhibitions and list of works by Enrique Fuentes at the galerie art moments, Vienna Article on the exhibition “Nueva lotería mexicana“ (2019) by Enrique Fuentes in San Luis Potosí, Mexico „Die Auferstehung“ von Enrique Fuentes, text on the website of St. Stephen’s Cathedral parish about the “Via Crucis“ project and its main piece “Die Auferstehung“ (the Resurrection) in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, November 2022
References