This week marks the anniversary of the death of muralist, architect and notable character of Mexico City, Juan O'Gorman. The artist born in 1902 left this world on January 18, 1982, but not before having transformed the capital city with his indelible vision and dedication to culture and education.
"In his career as an architect, he worked on major projects such as the new building of the Bank of Mexico; in the San Angel area, O'Gorman designed and built in 1931-1932 the Casa Estudio Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museum for both artists". In addition to these famous buildings, we show you 3 buildings and spaces that you can still visit in the city and that are part of the history of Juan O'Gorman's career.
His first mural in a library in Azcapotzalco
In a small space in a colonial building -which then served as Azcapotzalco's municipal palace- it was decided to install the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Library. Vasconcelos invited Juan O'Gorman to paint a mural here, when the artist was only 20 years old. It is said that on weekends, O'Gorman would take his bicycle, brushes and sketches, to leave at 7 a.m. and make the trip from San Angel to downtown Azcapotzalco. In this library, Juan O'Gorman painted his first mural in 1926, or at least the oldest one still preserved, as he had already painted murals in some of the city's pulquerías, but none of them survive to this day.
The murals at the Ministry of Communications and Transportation
Architect Carlos Lazo invited Juan O'Gorman to continue exploring his work as a muralist, now in the project he was leading, the SCOP. He was joined by other outstanding plastic artists, such as José Chávez Morado, Francisco Zúñiga and Rodrigo Arenas; and together they designed the 14 murals that adorned the magnificent façade of the capital's Secretariat.
The façade of the Central Library of the UNAM
Juan O'Gorman, contributed with his work to the legacy of this house of studies and to Ciudad Universitaria being recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, as well as the "most beautiful campus in Latin America", according to Times Higher Education, a magazine specialized in education, in 2018.