Contemporary Art with Maya Roots

Ricardo Can May, also known as “Richo Can” by his friends and peers in the artistic world, comes from Kimbilá, a small community of Izamal, a little less than three hours from Mérida. Richo was born and raised in this little town where Yucatecan embroidery seems to be the favorite activity of its people. When he turned 18 he moved to Mérida in order to study Visual Arts at UADY. And so, with the cultural influence of his background and the years of study, Richo has been able to create his own style based on the colors and shapes of the traditional Yucatecan dress known as the “huipil”. “The ‘huipil’ is art. If I put it in a painting I’m already merging techniques. I get the ideas from my mother, she is my main artistic influence. I always told her: Mom, you are an artist.”

That was the thought in Richo’s mind when he decided to try to try this artistic approach for the first time, and with Doña Linda’s (his mother’s) help, he made his first piece of art in 2016. “The embroidery work is done by my mother. I have the vision of taking out of context the popular art from Kimbilá but she chooses the colors and works the thread.”

Nowadays, Richo has a whole collection and he keeps producing more. Red, orange, yellow, blue, green, all these colors in their most vivid form fill the walls of his studio and home.

Another recurrent theme in his work is skulls. Richo told me that on the one hand, they represent the Maya worldview of Day of the Dead; and on the other hand, they expose the violence that’s present in our country these days.

Besides painting on canvas in medium and large format, Richo is also a muralist. He mostly uses acrylic and oil paint, and sometimes he creates mixed pieces with his mother’s embroidery designed by himself. He works by commission too. If you want to learn more about him and his work don’t hesitate to contact him.

Email: [email protected]
Tel. (999) 114 7410