Walking Into a Lyrical Dreamscape — Mexican Artist Amador Montes Brings His Happy Accidents to Houston

When you first view the visceral, sublime beauty of Amador Montes’ new works of art, it feels like you’re walking into a nuanced dreamscape punctuated by daisies, intricately delineated birds, numerical sequences and haunting messages on the canvas. Montes’ paintings are embroidered with layers of lyrical messages that speak volumes to the heart, like “me gustaria que aun estuvieras aqui (I wish you were still here). A celebrated Oaxacan contemporary artist and craftsman, Montes is not hesitant to delve deeply into his creative process and speak about the natural, intuitive flow behind bringing these ethereal works to life.

“It’s all about this sense of what’s driving that moment, what’s unfolding in the feeling,” Montes tells PaperCity. “So it’s a very natural, very emotional and fun process.” 

Montes’ first solo exhibition in Texas, entitled “Amador Montes: Under The Skin” brings evocative new oil paintings and bronze sculptures to Houston. The exhibit is on view at Art of the World Gallery through this Saturday, April 1.

“Montes’ artwork captivated everyone and his presence at the gallery added a lot of emotion,” Art of the World’s co-founder Liliana Molina says of the premiere event which brought Montes to Houston. “Collectors traveled from Alaska, Canada, Mexico and other cities in the U.S. to meet this talented contemporary artist.” 

Montes tells PaperCity that the authentic life of an artist is punctuated by happy accidents that happen serendipitously on the canvas. Montes doesn’t simply “like” accidents interwoven his artwork. He loves the happy accidents and leans into them as inspirations. It’s not about carefully or formulaically architecting any work ahead of time, Montes explains. It is about moving in the fluidity of the moment and allowing the painting or sculpture to speak to you. 

“I find it’s a good day is when a good accident happens,” Montes says. “I feel a dialogue between myself and my paintings, my work. It’s a very intuitive and emotional process where I do not necessarily follow a rational process or where I feel the need to balance out the canvas for the sake of composition.

“The mistakes and accidents create impermanence. Whereas something so planned can be predictable and have a beginning and an end. I love the accidents.” 

An influential painter and sculptor featured in some important international collections, Montes has exhibited his artworks at prestigious galleries and museums, including the Museum of the Oaxacan Painters, The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York City, the International Museum of the Baroque, Vatican City, Casa Lamm Gallery, Museum Risco and The Embassy of Mexico in Spain.

When the 43-year-old Montes talks about “Under the Skin” and his current work, his love of storytelling comes through. Montes’ childhood was spent soaking in the magical indigenous beauty of Oaxaca. Since he was only 8 years old, he instinctually knew that creating art was his gift. After obtaining a degree in graphic design, Montas spent his college days painting as a conduit of pure expression.

“Storytelling has always been a huge part of my life. All sorts of stories have been passed down from generation to generation,” Montes says. “Oaxaca’s full of all these folktales and mythologies. And all of this takes place in my imagination, and I’m just fueling it by drawing it and allowing it to come to life.” 

Montes recounts one folktale that ignited his imagination when he was young. Now, the rich ancestral story has been brought to life in Mexico City’s renowned Chapultepec Park, and visitors to Houston’s Art of the World Gallery can see one on view. The gargantuan insects inspired Montes so much that he created a short story about the Tipulas when he was a child. 

“I remember this story of Tipulas or mosquitoes, which was told to me in the mountains when it was very foggy,” Montes says. “The story was about these tall insects who would one day save the townspeople after a day when it rained heavily. When I was a child, this Tipulas just fascinated me.

“That these bugs would be able to fly over and rescue the townspeople. I just started drawing the Tipulas, these mosquitoes after that in a lifesize form which would have the capability of saving the townspeople.”  

In Chapultepec Park’s Botanical Gardens, eight of Montes’ 2.5-meter-high bronze insect sculptures loom large to create the El Lago de Las Tipulas (The Lake of the Crane Flies). 

One revelatory theme and inspiration that repeatedly flows through many of Montes’ pieces is the homage and love for his beloved mother Carmen. When Montes would paint or draw, his mom would encourage and nurture his love of art. 

“My mom was an important influence,” Montas says. “She was a vital part of my life, but my mom never dictated or forcefully told me to go study art. It was more an openness of encouragement. Every evening, she would be in the kitchen and would be preparing chocolate. I would be sitting across the table from her, and I would be sketching and drawing.

“And she would look at my drawings and comment on them. She told me, ‘One day, you’ll be a great painter.’ There was this nurturing of liberty, creativity and openness to create by nature.” 

Self-effacing and humble, Montes nonchalantly opens up about a few of his most favorite pieces in the debut exhibition at the Art of the World Gallery. In his piece entitled, Las Flores También Hablan II, Montes wanted to create something beautiful for his friends who had been living in COVID-19 pandemic isolation. 

“This was a post-COVID-19 inspiration — painting flowers because during COVID-19 everyone was locked in, quarantined and feeling lonely,” he says. “This was my way of sending flowers to people. I would paint and take pictures for my friends. If you can brighten someone’s day up, then do it. For me, this is a way of sending them flowers.” 

In another work entitled Ayer, Montes resonates with the striking aesthetic beauty of it, which has a lush feel that is evocative of his time in Seoul, Korea. 

 “So, I love this one so much,” Montes says. “This is one of my favorite ones from the exhibition because it has a very Asian feel.  I studied and lived in Seoul, Korea at one time. It was not necessarily that I planned it to look a certain way. A lot of my work is emotion based.

“Everything is very personal. I like all the variety of birds. For me, painting is about expressing a feeling. So I’m enjoying the process.” 

The artist’s life offers a vitality and creative freedom that Montes truly respects. It also offers a way for Montes to give back to his family and community in Oaxaca. Montes provided the example of giving his family a painting — and just that gift of art could help his loved ones take a trip around the world, once the piece is sold to a gallery. 

“I cherish the ability to express myself. You can mythologize. You can express happy thoughts and stories,” Montes says. “You can communicate with your loved ones, because they’re taking time to absorb the messages and all of my works.

“But the most valuable thing and the reason why I wanted to be great and successful was not for myself. It’s what comes along with that and how it helps others. I want to help my family in a selfless way.”