Germán Venegas (b. La Magdalena Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla, 1959) is a Mexican artist considered one of the most influential representatives of the generation of artists who emerged in Mexico in the 1980s. His early paintings dislocate religious iconography, resituating them in an investigation of the contours of reality and self-presentation. Subsequent work across mediums – including sculpture, engraving, and pieces utilizing his earliest training as a woodcarver – continue an irreverent investigation of non Western spirituality and belief. Venegas attended La Esmeralda, Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado.
Notable past solo exhibitions include “Y Nuestra Herencia Era Una Red De Agujeros…” at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (2007, Oaxaca); “Germán Venegas: Cabalgando el tigre 1983-2008” at Museo de Arte Moderno (2008, Mexico City); “Todo lo otro, Germán Venegas” at Museo Tamayo (2018-19, Mexico City); and “Polvo de Imágenes” at MARCO: Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (1992, Monterrey). His work is in the public collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico; the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico; the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; the Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo, Badajoz, Spain; among others.