Hugo Crosthwaite
Hugo Crosthwaite
Luchadora (Fighter), 2025
Acrylic and color pencil on canvas
36 x 36 x 1.5 in (91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Virgenes del Socorro (Virgins of Succor), 2025
Acrylic, colored pencil and gold marker on canvas
36 x 36 x 1.5 in (91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Arcangel (Archangel), 2025
Acrylic, colored pencil and gold marker on canvas
36 x 36 x 1.5 in (91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Tecuan, 2025
Acrylic, colored pencil and gold marker on canvas
36 x 36 x 1.5 in (91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Frutas (Fruit), 2025
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic paint and color pencil on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Mujer Toma Culebra (Woman Grabs Snake), 2024
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic, color pencil, and gold marker on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Tijuana, 2025
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic and color pencil on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Ricos Elotes (Delicious Corn), 2024
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic and color pencil on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Boletos (Tickets), 2024
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic and color pencil on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Tijuacolor, 2024
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic and color pencil on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Ritual, 2025
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic paint and color pencil on canvas, (polyptych)
108 x 144 x 1.5 in (274.3 x 365.8 x 3.8 cm) Overall
36 x 36 x 1.5 in (91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm) Each (12 panels)
Hugo Crosthwaite
Santa Avioneta (Little Saint Airplane), 2024
from the Tijuacolor Series
Acrylic, color pencil, and gold marker on canvas
79 x 79 x 2 in (200.7 x 200.7 x 5.1 cm)
HUGO CROSTHWAITE
Art Basel Miami Beach | Booth N14
December 5–7, 2025
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is pleased to present a solo presentation of new paintings by Mexican American artist Hugo Crosthwaite, the first-place winner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. For thirty years, Crosthwaite has taken a multidisciplinary approach to examine the many complexities of border life, identity, and human struggle. His work often blends realism and surrealism, creating narrative scenes that reflect the social and political tensions of the Mexico–U.S. border regions. Inspired by the tradition of ex-votos and influenced by cubism and surrealism, Crosthwaite's new body of work continues his commitment to visualizing the many myths, narratives, and dynamics of Mexico. Like the storytelling in ex-votos that portray petitioners dramatically situated within scenes of their dilemmas, where divine beings intervene unexpectedly from the spiritual realm, Crosthwaite paints the true stories, miracles, and vows of Tijuana residents, portraying them as icons of resilience and perseverance. Long known for his trademark black-and-white palette, these new paintings mark an important shift as color becomes a primary element in conveying a new spectrum of experiences within a narrative populated by heroines and modern-day saints forging their way through collapsing systems, both literally and figuratively. Vernacular is transformed into allegory as Crosthwaite utilizes symbols of memento mori and vanitas, serving as a timeless reminder of humanity’s common ground.
Hugo Crosthwaite (b. 1971, Tijuana, MX) is a Mexican American artist living and working between Rosarito, Baja California, MX, and San Diego, CA, US. Crosthwaite holds a bachelor’s degree in applied arts from San Diego State University, CA. His multidisciplinary approach to art encompasses paintings, murals, documentary recordings of oral histories, live-sketch graphite portrait drawings, books, films, and animations. Crosthwaite was awarded First Prize in the 2019 Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition for his stop-motion animated video A Portrait of Berenice Sarmiento Chávez, and subsequently the official portrait commission of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, another stop-motion animation portrait that entered the collection in 2021. Other awards include the Grand Prize at the 2014 XI FEMSA Monterrey Biennial, MX, and the 2021 San Diego Art Prize. Crosthwaite’s works are included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Morgan Library and Museum, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; San Diego Museum of Art, CA; Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL; National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago; and CECUT/Centro Cultural Tijuana, MX; among others.