Heriberto Quesnel

Heriberto Quesnel rewrites history with a wink and a match. Born in Mexico City in 1971, this self-taught artist treats universal history like a vast comic book that's desperately in need of better punchlines. His work lives in the sweet spot where Grant Wood's American Gothic meets childhood comic strips — and sometimes, Trump shows up with fire.

Quesnel is a collector of time. He haunts flea markets and old libraries, gathering forgotten magazines and nineteenth-century publications like artifacts from parallel universes. These become his canvases for reimagining the past to make sense of our ridiculous present. Through drawing, painting, and photography, he creates images that remind us history doesn't repeat — it just gets more sarcastic.

Since the '90s, his work has earned him grants from Mexico's National Council for Culture and Arts, residencies from Vermont to Spain to Nebraska, and a spot in Thames & Hudson's "100 Painters of Tomorrow."

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