Oscar Gardea grew up in Ciudad Juárez. There, he witnessed violence becoming a defining force in the life of his city — a presence that would go on to shape his body of work. Gardea’s practices give form to these experiences, exploring the entanglement between the global north and south, and the quiet (but blatant) exploitation that binds them together.

Gardea looks back into Mexican history while remaining firmly rooted in the materiality of the present, tracing how the south continues to be undermined and consumed by dispersed forces. At the heart of his work lies a simple but corrosive question: what does an object once sacred to ritual — the mask — disguise?

Beyond mask-making, he works with various other materials, shapes, and nuances of expression.

His art and performances have traveled far beyond Mexico, exhibited in Switzerland, Austria, the United States, and many other countries.