Melecio Galván

San Rafael, Mexico, 1945 — Chalco, Mexico, 1982

Melecio Galván was a draughtsman who was little-known during his lifetime. He grew up in working-class family in San Rafael, on the outskirts of Mexico City, and died under mysterious circumstances in that town at the age of 37. Galván studied at the Academia San Carlos in Mexico City between 1965 and 1968. His preferred medium was ink on paper, filling numerous sketchbooks with drawings that reflected his major themes: reinterpretations of classical drawings of the human figure and anatomy studies, explorations of the grotesque, and themes related to the socio-political situation in Mexico, especially following the 1968 Tlateloco Massacre. From 1977 to 1981, Galván became a member of the Grupo MIRA, which included mostly printmakers focused on politics and social justice. In this context, Galván produced in 1980 his best-known series entitled “Militarismo y repression” [“Militarism and Repression”]. As a socio-politically committed artist, he was wary of the commercial gallery circuit and of state art institutions. During his lifetime, he only had a few individual exhibitions, in Mexico City and in Wichita, Kansas, but often illustrated books periodicals, print compilations, and labor union materials.