Julio Galán (b. Múzquiz, Coahuila, 1959 – d. Zacatecas, 2006) was among the most prominent Mexican artists of the 1980s, known for neo-expressionist works that subverted gender, Catholicism and heroic iconography. Originally trained as an architect at the University of Monterrey, Galán lived in New York City from 1984 to 1990. The artist was introduced to Andy Warhol, who subsequently championed Galán’s works in Interview magazine. By the end of the 1980s, Gálan had become one of the most well known Mexican painters in the art world, included in exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1989), the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1992), and The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1990), among many others.
Since his death of a brain hemorrhage in 2006, Galán’s work has been the subject of retrospectives at the Museo Tamayo (2002), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2006); and Museo Amparo, Puebla (2001). He was included in the Whitney Biennial, New York (1995) and the Havana Biennial, Havana (1984).