October 1 – November 14, 2026
Opening Reception: Thurs., October 1, 5-8pm (Artist in attendance.)
Open House with Fulgencio Lazo & Shinzaburo Takeda: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 6-7pm
ArtX Contemporary is proud to present Iluminando Caminos [Lighting the Way], a solo exhibition by Oaxacan-American artist Fulgencio Lazo. In this new body of work, Lazo draws from his Zapotec heritage while responding to the political and social tensions of our time. Against fear, division, and uncertainty for immigrant communities, he turns toward art, cultural memory and community as sources of resilience and hope.
“I want my work to stand in contrast to these dark forces,” Lazo writes. “I want to visually light the way.”
Rooted in Seattle and his hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, Lazo’s work reflects a life lived between places. His paintings explore themes of migration and cultural flow using a personal visual language, creating a blend of Oaxacan Indigenous artistic traditions, references to textile design and music, and modernist abstraction. Dense, rhythmic compositions form a visual “weaving” of family history, place, and cultural memory.
Agua Azul [Blue Water], for example, depicts kites, buttons, spools of thread, horns, candle-lit lanterns and stylized human faces converging on a swooping path, evoking the parades and community celebrations of Oaxacan cultural life. Río de Silbatos [River of Whistles] is a nod to Lazo’s training as a printmaker, painted on a large-scale hand-carved wood panel – a shadowy, evocative work that honors ancestral journeys.
Throughout Iluminando Caminos [Lighting the Way], paintings and mixed-media works reveal the breadth of Lazo’s vibrant creative practice. At a time when Latine immigrant communities are facing heightened fear and hostility, Lazo responds with an insistence on hope – looking to cultural memory, community, and connection as sources of resilience and light.
About the Artist
Fulgencio Lazo is an internationally recognized artist who has presented more than 50 solo exhibitions at galleries and institutions including the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, Daikokuya Gallery in Nagoya, Jacob Lawrence Gallery in Seattle, Rufino Tamayo Museum in Oaxaca, and the Mexican Cultural Institute in Paris. His artwork is held in collections including the National Museum of Mexican Art, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez, Rufino Tamayo Museum of Prehispanic Art, Museum of Shunsen, and Harborview Medical Center.
Lazo has also played a vital role in Seattle’s Latine arts and cultural community. He co-founded Día de los Muertos celebrations in Tieton and at Seattle Art Museum and Tacoma Art Museum; established Studio Lazo, an art hub and community space in Seattle’s Central District; and co-founded Grupo Cultural Oaxaqueño to promote and preserve the music, dance, language, and cultural traditions of Oaxaca. Lazo received the Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award in 2018.
Experience Lazo’s work across Seattle
This fall, there are several opportunities to experience Lazo’s work and the connections between his Oaxacan roots, Seattle, and the Mexican community of the Pacific Northwest.
Alongside Iluminando Caminos [Lighting the Way] at ArtX Contemporary, Lazo will be presenting a new installation in Seattle Art Museum’s 4th Floor galleries (October 3, 2026-January 10, 2027), in conjunction with SAM’s annual Día de los Muertos Community Celebration, which Lazo co-founded with SAM over 30 years ago.
Lazo will also be the inaugural featured artist in The Studio at Seattle Art Museum (SAM), offering printmaking demonstrations and creative activities throughout October, with the artist in attendance on select Thursdays and Saturdays.
These events are also part of this year’s MEXAM NW festival, a statewide festival of Mexican culture by the Mexican Consulate in Seattle.
Fulgencio Lazo and Erin Fanning guest curated Visions in Color: Contemporary Artwork from Oaxaca, Mexico at Vashon Center for the Arts (October 2–November 1, 2026). The exhibition brings the vibrant creative energy of Oaxaca to Vashon Center for the Arts, featuring more than thirty original works by accomplished contemporary Oaxacan artists. Opening Reception: Friday, October 2, 5–8 p.m.
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