France gives Gabriel Orozco the degree of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters

The recognized and controversial Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco was recognized with the degree of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters, the highest recognition conferred by the France government through his Ministry of Culture, for his exceptional international career.

When delivering the award, Thursday night, in the Mexican capital, the French ambassador to our country, Delphine Borion Tribute to an exceptional trajectory, marked by several triumphal exhibitions in France, as well as the ties that unite us.

He added, according to a statement, that Orozco’s work is recognized Throughout the world and his works are widely exposed in France. By living in Paris, it influences and is influenced by French art and culture, which enriches its practice. This ability to merge Latin American and European perspectives contributes to the recognition of its uniqueness in the world scene of contemporary art.

The Veracruz creator (Xalapa, 1962) had been appointed officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2012, so the new Commander Award represents the maximum recognition of an artistic career granted by the Government, which recognizes people prominent for his work and his significant contribution to the development of arts and letters in France and international scale.

Relationship with the European country

At the ceremony, Orozco recapitulated his close relationship with that European nation, which, he said, has been fundamental in his work since the beginning of his career. In the early 90s he arrived in the Burgundy region to carry out a ceramic project in a brick and tile factory, and in 1994, the Crousel Chantal, in Paris, became its first gallery.

According to the information provided, over three decades, the Mexican creator has carried out works, works and exhibitions in France that have consolidated it as one of the most recognized artists in that nation, including the retrospective in the Pompidou center in Paris between 2010 and 2011, complemented by a dense and original peripheral program, in resonance with his work.

Three years later, he seized the walls of Chaumont-Sur-Loire Castle and took photographs of tapestry fragments, turning them into aesthetic and poetic works. Once again, his search focused on the presence of the human being in the inanimate object. They also highlight their most recent relationships, such as the one that has forged with the National Manufactures, an institution created by the Mobilier National, and the Cité de la Céramique de Sèvres and Limoges, in order to promote the Knowledge French to make French in terms of Métiers D ‘Arts.

Just last Tuesday, at the press conference where he announced his exhibition National Polytechnic, That, as he said The day It will be presented at the Jumex Museum as of today and until August 3, with free admission, Orozco talked about his relationship with politics.

From his experience as coordinator of the Chapultepec Project: Nature and Culture, which with 10,500 million pesos was one of the most important public works of the six -year term headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, clarified that his relationship With governments it is a chess game. As well as with museums and cultural establishment, you always have to be in constant chess game

Bonds with the Government

Added: I did not see it as a relationship with the government, but as a relationship with society and the moment in our social process that we were living as a country in the six years that passed. It was not to establish a relationship with a specific government, but with a social phenomenon that was happening, and suddenly there was the opportunity to generate an important renewal in an important place, which had been abandoned for some time.

He assured that his relationship With other public figures, presidents or politicians, it has always been based on work. I don’t have a very active political social life that we say. When there is something that happens around a public space or a government museum, I simply see if you agree with my policies and with my way of thinking, and if I can contribute something.

Considered the most international of Mexican artists today, Orozco clarified that while working on the Chapultepec project, from 2019 to 2024, he also set up exhibitions in Interesting placeslike London, New York, Paris, Havana and Tokyo, And I have no relationship with those governments. Although now the French government has just given me a prize, but it is not because I am a friend of its presidentshe said about the most recent recognition.

As reported in these pages (The day, 1/28/25), Gabriel Orozco’s sample at the Jumex Museum (Miguel Cervantes Saavedra 303, Colonia Granada) is the first one that presents in a Mexican museum enclosure in almost 20 years.

The previous one was a retrospective in 2006 in the Palace of Fine Arts, preceded by one more in the Tamayo Museum, in 2000.