Ángela Gurría
Born in 1929 in Mexico City, Gurría studied at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature in the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México). She was student of the sculptor German Cueto, introducer of abstractionism within sculptural forms, at the current University of the Americas.
She continued her training in different ateliers, as Mario Zamora’s workshop, the Abraham Gonzalez Foundry and Montiel Blanca’s workshop. Her sculptural production took off in the 1950s and began experimenting with different materials and techniques. Her sculptural trajectory goes then from a religious symbolic tendency to abstractionism.
Known for her monumental sculptures and her metal and stone work, Ángela Gurría is known as one of Mexico’s most important sculptors of the 20th century.
In 1974 she joined the National Academy of Arts as a member, being the first woman accepted in such institution. She was invited by Mathias Goeritz to participate in the Friendship Route, an open space sculpture project in Mexico City. Together with Mathias Goeritz, Geles Cabrera, Juan Luis Diaz and Sebastian, joined the artistic group “GUCADIGOSE”.
She made important contributions to the urban landscape in Mexico City with projects such as her Tribute to the Ceiba Tree, in The Presidente Chapultepec Hotel, and the Monument to Mexico in Tijuana, Baja California. In addition, her monumental sculpture The River Papaloapan sits at the entrance of the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City. In 1967, she obtained first prize at the III Mexican Biennale of Sculpture.