by Eugenio Amézquita Velasco
-The Casa de la Cultura of Celaya will inaugurate on September 11 the painting exhibition “La dulzura” by Lothar Müller, curated by Sofía Rivas.
-The exhibition brings together semi-urban and rural landscapes of the Bajío, with gestural strokes and vibrant colors that omit the human figure.
-The exhibition will be open to the public at the Galería Salvador Zúñiga until October 11, as a tribute to Mexican everyday life.
The Casa de la Cultura of Celaya will host the solo painting exhibition “La dulzura,” a recent work by German artist Lothar Müller, curated by Sofía Rivas. The opening will take place on September 11, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. in the Galería Salvador Zúñiga and will remain open until October 11.
Sofía Rivas describes the exhibition as a series of scenes that portray Müller’s final days in San Miguel de Allende and his first two years in Celaya. The work omits human figures to focus on semi-urban landscapes, trees such as pirules, conifers, and palm trees, and symbols of national consumer culture like OXXO and Subway, which situate the paintings in a precise geographic and temporal framework.
The dominant palette includes blues, ochres, greens, and reds, with thick and gestural brushstrokes that evoke a naïve aesthetic, although Müller graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI, 1987). The violence affecting Celaya does not appear in his canvases, but it does in his performances, such as “Tiroteo,” presented at Manifiesta III at Ex Teresa (2023).
Lothar Müller was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1956. Founder of Kunsthaus Santa Fe and Kunsthaus Miami, he has exhibited in more than 50 international shows. He currently resides in Celaya, where he continues to develop pictorial, performative, and curatorial work.
His artistic philosophy is based on creative freedom, emotion as an expressive engine, and the cultural responsibility of art. For Müller, art is not a thesis but a way of perceiving the world. “It’s not something scientific, you don’t have to prove it. It’s how you perceive the world at this moment,” he states.
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| Journalist Eugenio Amézquita Velasco with German-born artist Lothar Müller. |
A defender of figurative art, he has worked with portraits, urban landscapes, and fluorescent painting. His work includes male bodies in suggestive poses, melancholic landscapes, and intimate scenes that reflect emotional authenticity. “The concept is fundamental in figurative work and that you can truly express yourself,” he affirms.
Müller believes that “art is culture and culture is quality of life.” In times of crisis, art must be both balm and active proposal. His work functions as an affective archive, a symbolic record of the present. In series like “Memoria y Presente,” he explores homoeroticism and sexual dissidence as axes of aesthetic resistance.
He has participated in festivals such as GIFF, Manifiesta, and exhibitions like “Guerra es Obscena” and “Post-SIDA,” establishing himself as a reference in queer art in the Bajío. Influenced by Andy Warhol, Edward Hopper, and David Hockney, Müller reconfigures the gaze from his context: Celaya, San Miguel de Allende, violence, hope, color, and light.
“La dulzura” is an invitation to contemplate everyday life through painting, to feel the landscape as an act of presence, and to celebrate Mexican identity with the banner of culture held high.
His work, distinctions, solo and group exhibitions, fairs
Distinctions
2021: “BARCO First Biennial of Contemporary Art of the Bajío” – Selected
2020: “Rufino Tamayo Biennial” – Selected
2002: CONACULTA - FONCA, Program for the Promotion of Cultural Projects and Conversions, D-ROM. Kunsthaus Santa Fe
1999: CONACULTA - FONCA, Program for the Promotion of Cultural Projects and Conversions, C-ROM 1999–2000. Kunsthaus Santa Fe
Individual Shows (selection)
2022: “Dirty Old Man Dirty Old Men and Jung’s” – Art Space Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
2020: “Diario Crepuscular” – City Museum, Querétaro, Mexico
2019: “Galería Dos de los Topos” – León de los Aldama, Mexico
2019: “Post-SIDA” – GIFF Guanajuato International Film Festival, Midnight Madness, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2018: “Memoria y presente” – ArtSpace Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
2017: “Puras Mamadas” – GIFF Guanajuato International Film Festival, Midnight Madness, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Individual Shows (2003–2016)
2016: “Lothar Müller. Reflections on Reality” – Intersección Contemporary Art Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2015: “Guerra es Obscena” – Touring: “Posporno Latino”
Fundación AAVC Hangar, Barcelona, Spain
LADA (Live Art Development Agency), London, UK
Bataclán Internacional 2015, Cine Tonalá, Mexico City, Mexico
GIFF Guanajuato International Film Festival, Midnight Madness, Guanajuato, Mexico
2014: “Pandemónium” – Video performance, Global Queer Films, London, UK
2013: “Starting Point” – City Museum, Querétaro, Mexico
2012: “Neoexpressionism 1982–1989” – Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2011: “Industrial Landscapes” – León Cultural Center, León, Mexico
2010: “Piccolinominiestres333” – Kunsthaus Miami, Miami, USA
2008: “Reflections of Dehumanization” – Kunsthaus Museum of Contemporary Art of Chihuahua, Mexico
2007: José Cisneros Museum of Contemporary Art, Durango, Mexico
2006: “Trip to Poland” – Haus der Kunst, Guadalajara, Mexico
2005: “Berlin-Berlin” – City Museum, Querétaro, Mexico
2004: “Industrial Landscapes” – Museum of Art of Querétaro, Mexico
2003: “Starting Point” – El Nigromante Cultural Center, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Industrial Landscapes” – Puente 15 Gallery, Querétaro, Mexico
Individual Shows (1999–2002)
2002:
“Industrial Landscapes” – Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Objects of Desire” – Arte21 Gallery, Puebla, Mexico
“Convergences-Divergences (a look at the nude)” – State Institute of Culture, Durango, Mexico
2001:
“Open Sky” – State Legislative Palace, Guanajuato, Mexico
“Life and Death” – City Museum, Querétaro, Mexico
“Displaced Secrets” – Casa de la Cultura, Celaya, Mexico
1999:
“Sector 3” – Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City and City Museum, Querétaro, Mexico
“Evaporated Images” – Touring: Casa de Sierra Nevada Gallery, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Libertad Gallery, Querétaro, Mexico
“Still Life” – Café Sandía, Guanajuato, Mexico
Group Shows (selection)
2025:
“The End” – Performance with Perras del Museo, Manifiesta IV, Zócalo, Mexico City, Mexico
“The Neighborhood. Queer Logics” – State Pinacotheca, Manifiesta IV, Mexico
2024:
“Morfolibia” – Manos Amigues, Mexico City, Mexico
“Post-SIDA” – Common Effort, trap, garden, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“I Am Impious” – Mifer Festival, Manos Amigues, Mexico City, Mexico
“The Neighborhood. Queer Logics” – Manifiesta IV, Autonomous University, UAQ, Querétaro, Mexico
“Shootout” – Manitas III, Mexico City, Mexico
2021:
“Malinche 2020” – Performative documentary, Guillermo Gómez-Peña and La Pocha Nostra
“Portal of Beauty” – Kunsthaus Foundation Collection
“A Woman Who Knows Latin Laughs at a Man” – Performance, Mexico
2020:
“Transformation” – BARCO Performance Biennial, Mexico City, Mexico
“Men’s Games” – DE CHILE, DULCE & MANTECA, Volume 2, Ser AireArtSpace Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
2019:
“PoSNaCional 1.0” – Performance, UTA-ArteDos Casa, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“DerSteppenwolf” – Performance, Ruta Búsqueda, Belgium
“PoSNaCional 2.0” – Performance, Hormiguero,
Group Exhibitions (2015–2018)
2018
“La Pocha Nostra in Querétaro” – Querétaro, Mexico
“Procedure: Volume 2” – Espacio Efímero, Querétaro, Mexico
“Action Art Festival (FAA)” – Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Mexico
“ENAPE” – Pachuca, Mexico
2017
“The Day After Tomorrow” – Galería Dos Topos, León, Mexico
“Anormal, Festival of Postpornography, Feminism and Eccentric Sexualities” – Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City, Mexico
“Dirty Game” – Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros, Mexico City, Mexico
“Transborder” – Foundation of the Contemporary Mexico Cultural Center, Mexico City, Mexico
“ENAPE” – Pachuca, Mexico
2016
“Museum of X” – Video art and performance with Guillermo Gómez-Peña and La Pocha Nostra, Eva de los Chellet, Mexico City, Mexico
“The Madness of Idealism with La Pocha Nostra” – International Performance Encounter 2016, ISSSTE Cultural Development Center, Guanajuato, Mexico
“Reunion 10,000 with Guillermo Gómez-Peña and La Pocha Nostra” – Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2015
“Dog’s Life” – Galería Eloisa Jiménez, León, Mexico
“International Biennial of Performing Arts” – Interactiva CECUT, Tijuana, Mexico and Centro Cultural Santo Tomás, Ensenada, Mexico
Exhibitions and Projects (2010–2014)
2014
“Territory Control (I Am Not the Enemy)” – Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Hypocritical Insurgents” – Neuromante, Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Recount with Gómez-Peña” – Santa Rosa Jáuregui, Mexico
“Sustainable Readings” – Neuromante, Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2013–2016
“Arte/sano: Artista 3.0” – Touring:
Museum of Popular Art, Mexico City
Caja Real University Cultural Center, San Luis Potosí
Hidalgo Arts Center, Pachuca
Guanajuato Arts Center, Salamanca
Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT), Tijuana
Art Chapel of the University of the Americas, Puebla
2013
“Dilation” – Kunsthaus Santa Fe, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Pandemonium” – Performance, Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico
2012
Participation in “Postporn Journey for 1 2 3” – Ernesto Guerra, Zilla, Chile
2011
“Ghosts and Other Realities” – La Cámara, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2010
“Gay Rights are Human Rights” – Kunsthaus Miami, Miami, USA
“Art and Human Rights” – Museum of Women, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
Alfredo Zalce Museum of Contemporary Art, Morelia, Mexico
Exhibitions and Events (2007–2014)
2007
“45 Traces in El Nigromante” – Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Countertime” – State Auditorium, Guanajuato, Mexico
“Temperature at the Top” – Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2008
“Neurotic Playground” – Red Head Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Pinta NY – New York, USA
2009
Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante Cultural Center – San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
“Urns” – Cervantino International Festival, Alhóndiga de Granaditas, Guanajuato, Mexico
Arte LISBOA – Lisbon, Portugal
2010
“Reflections of Dehumanization” – Guillermo Ceniceros Art Museum, Mexico
Arte Urbe – Cervantino International Festival, Guanajuato, Mexico
2011
Art Miami – Miami, USA
Artexpo 2006 – Miami, USA
2012
ARCO 06 – Madrid, Spain
Arteaméricas – Miami, USA
2013
Makeup Encounter – Claustro Sor Juana, Mexico City, Mexico
Chicago Contemporary and Classic – Chicago, USA
2014
Art Istanbul 2004 – Istanbul, Turkey
“Paintings, Writings, Large Spaces” – Occurrence Gallery, Montreal, Canada
Ecoarte – Universidad Iberoamericana, León, Mexico
Fairs and Exhibitions (2000–2004)
2004
Art Miami International Art Fair – Miami, USA
Arteaméricas International Art Fair – Miami, USA
2003
Toronto International Art Fair – Toronto, Canada
2002
Caracas International Contemporary Art Fair – Caracas, Venezuela
Arte23 Gallery – León, Mexico
CONTEMPORANEA International Art Fair – Mexico
“Ritual Life and Death” – Casa Hispanoamericana, Milan, Italy
“Tiemarte” – X FIAC, León, Mexico
2001
“Crossing Borders” – Touring:
Laredo Center for the Arts – Laredo, USA
Casa de la Cultura – Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Casa de la Cultura – Monterrey, Mexico
Museum of Contemporary Art of Tamaulipas – Mexico
Ex-Terra Expo – San Antonio, Texas, USA
“Landscape? Landscape?” – Arte23 Gallery, León, Mexico
2000
“In Search of the Word” – City Museum, Querétaro, Mexico
“Assemblage with Works by 15,000 Global Artists” – Fundación Tijuana, Tijuana, Mexico
“Assemblage with Works by 15,000 Global Artists” – Sharjah Museum, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
“Under Construction” – University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
“Contemporary Figurative Art” – Art Museum, Guadalajara, Mexico
“Contemporary Figurative Art” – Casa Lamm, Mexico City, Mexico
“Small Format Salon” – OUT Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
Collections
His work belongs to private collections in Mexico, Germany, and the United States.
He has permanent exhibitions at the Guanajuato Cultural Center in León, Mexico.
Others
2024
Photoperformance Workshop, Celaya Experimental Film Festival, Celaya, Mexico
2023
“Presence of Absence” – Contemporary Art Symposium FIAC, León, Mexico
2021
Guest in music video “Brvja” – Polomo feat. Galo Santo
Talk “About BARCO” – First Biennial of the Bajío
Interview in “Cámara Blanca” – with collaborators of the exhibition
“We Are the Echoes and the Voice” – with Eduardo Olvera, Urban Art Center Guanajuato, UAQ, Querétaro, Mexico
2018
“Image Dramaturgy” – Teaching at Instituto Allende, delivered at University of Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Guest speaker at panel “The Mark of Faith” – Pablo Goebel Fine Arts Gallery #MetroNewsMx #GuanajuatoDesconocido
