ANTONIO TREJO OSORIO
(1922-1986)

Antonio Trejo Osorio was born in Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, in Mexico -on the 24th of August, 1922-; and it was here, in the heart of the Mezquital valley that he spent his childhood and adolescence.

In 1943 he moved to Mexico City to enter the Academy of San Carlos, where he studied painting and printmaking. His teachers for painting and drawing were: José Chávez Morado, Alfredo Zalce and Julio Castellanos; and for printmaking: Carlos Alvarado Lang.

In 1948 he assisted Prof. Alvarado Lang in the etching and wood-cut program for print making. He eventually had full charge of the program when Prof. Alvarado Lang became the Dean of the Academy of San Carlos.

In 1951 he was invited to coordinate the drawing department of the CREFAL (Regional Center of Fundamental Education in Latin America), in the city of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Here he participated in the development of printmaking systems and multiple reproduction techniques for indigenous communities, as well as creating drawings and educational posters for the communities.

From 1952 to 1954 he taught drawing and printmaking in the Escuela Popular de Pintura in the city of Morelia, by invitation of Prof. Alfredo Zalce, who was then the director of the school.

In 1953 he won second place in the National Printmaking Competition, which was judged by the Universidad Michoacana.

In the same year he painted a fresco mural for the primary school “Independencia” in the city of Morelia. This work deteriorated over time and disappeared.

In 1954 he participated in the exhibition “Cincuenta Pintores Jóvenes” (Fifty Young Painters), promoted by the Galery of Plástica Mexicana.

That same year he was invited to teach at the School of Arts and Letters of the University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, where he taught as professor of drawing and painting.

During his stay in the city of Guadalajara--which extended to almost four years--his focus was on printmaking. The greater part of this work appeared in various publications of the city. Several cover plates and illustrations created for the medical magazine SHOPIA from this period (years 1955, 1956 y 1957) are worth noting, as are the thirty black and white linoleum-cut prints created for the book: “La Vida y la Muerte entre los Tlajomulcas” (1956), by Dr. Francisco Hernández Flores; and the twenty seven two and three plate linoleum-cut prints created for the book: “El Alcalde de Lagos y Otras Consejas” (1957), by Lic. Alfonso de Alba.

For his constant contribution to education and his great productivity in printmaking Antonio Trejo was awarded, in 1958, the “José Clemente Orozco” medal by the then Governor of the State of Jalisco, Lic. Agustín Yáñez.

In the same year he was invited by Prof. Carlos Alvarado Lang to rejoin the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. There he took charge of the drawing, painting, and printmaking programs, which remained under his care, almost without interruption, until the year 1979.

In 1959 his work participated in the exhibition, “Maestros de pintura de San Carlos” in the José María Velasco Galery; and in 1960, in the exhibition “23 maestros de San Carlos”.

In 1964 he painted a mural of forty square meters for the opening of the National Museum of Anthropology. In this mural he represented a panoramic view of the archeological ruins of Monte Albán, Oaxaca, and the surrounding landscape.

In 1966 he founded a printmaking program financed by OPIC (Organism of International Promotion for Culture), in order to further and update the knowledge and skills of young printmakers graduating from art schools.

Toward the close of 1966, Antonio Trejo entered into a new and different period of his professional activity, on being appointed Director of the National School of Fine Arts (formerly the Academy of San Carlos), with full support from the student and academic communities. During the time, engineer Javier Barros Sierra was the Dean of the National University.

During his years in office as Director, he oversaw curricular reform in order to break with outdated academic methods and establish new parameters for the teaching of fine arts.

In the conflictive year of 1968 he concluded the second stage of the reform, constituting undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the various areas of specialization offered by the school. He also established experimental workshops, which allowed the students to develop new concepts in art and expression. He served as Director of the ENAP until 1970, and consequently continued teaching drawing and painting.

In 1973 he was invited by artist Jesús Gallardo to teach a course in relief printmaking and silkscreen at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Guanajuato.

In 1975 he was again called to administrative function, as General Secretary of the National School of Fine Arts. He also coordinated the Board of Academic Planning, reorganizing and updating the curriculum and pedagogic approach.

He retired in 1980 from his academic and administrative activities, in order to dedicate himself to his personal work.

In 1982 he worked with artist Adlofo Mexiac on the conception and creation of a mural carved in wood for the vestibule of the New Legislative Palace in San Lázaro, in Mexico City. Unfortunately this work was destroyed when the building caught fire in 1988.

Toward the end of his life he continued experimenting with diverse techniques such as high fire ceramic procedures. He again worked extensively in wood-cut, oil painting, encaustic painting, natural earths, gouache, and mixed techniques.

He never interrupted his pedagogic work; his studio was always open to young artists seeking guidance and critique.

Antonio Trejo Osorio died in the month of May, 1986, in Mexico City.