Born and currently lives in Chicago, IL, USA
Elsa Muñoz is a Mexican-American artist born and raised on the South Side of Chicago (1983). Muñoz credits her interest in both nature and healing to her experience growing up in an underserved and often unsafe community with little access to green spaces. Having to spend most of her childhood indoors led to the cultivation of a rich inner world in which she was able to find beauty and sanctuary. Her work explores the threads connecting ecology, personal health and spirituality.
Elsa received her BFA in oil painting from the American Academy of Art in 2006. She's since had 11 solo shows including one at the National Museum of Mexican Art (2011) and at the Union League Club of Chicago (2016) along with several group shows throughout the United States. She was recently awarded a SPARK Grant from the Chicago Artists Coalition (2022) and was the recipient of the Helen and Tim Meier Foundation For The Arts Achievement Award (2019). Notable collections include DePaul Art Museum (Chicago), the National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), and the private collection of Martin Castro, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights under President Barack Obama.
Education
2006 Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, American Academy of Art, Chicago, Illinois
Solo Shows
2025 (UPCOMING) Goldfinch Gallery, Chicago, IL
2023 Dentro del olivo, Centro Cultural Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
2022 Panorama, GOOGLE Chicago, Chicago, IL
2022 Controlled Burns, Brandt Roberts Galleries, Columbus, OH
2017 Solo Exhibition, SugarCube Gallery, Denver, CO
2016 The Unknowable, The Union League Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2014 Sea and Landscapes, Zygman Voss Gallery, Chicago, IL
2013 Transience, Zygman Voss Gallery, Chicago, IL
2012 Still: Paintings for Blanca, Dubhe Carreno Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011 Claro y Obscuro, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2010 Sublime Nature, South Suburban College, South Holland, IL
2010 Introspection, Dubhe Carreno Gallery, Chicago, IL
Group Exhibitions
2024 The Garden of Forking Paths, Deli Gallery in collaboration with Calderón, New York, NY
2024 The Psychic Landscape, NYC Culture Club, New York, NY
2023 Life Cycles, DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
2023 Newcity Breakout Artists, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL
2023 Boil, Toil + Trouble produced by Abby Pucker and Zoe Lukov, Art in Common, Chicago, IL
2023 Aqui hay fuego desembocado, Museo de Los Pintores Oaxaqueños, Oaxaca, Mexico
2023 River Styx, Sea View Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2022 And the darkness is luminous, Chicago Temple Gallery, Chicago, IL
2022 Contracorriente, Chicago Art Department, Chicago, IL
2022 From The Earth, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
2022 Unseen Things Are Still There, Riverside Arts Center, Riverside, IL
2022 Art in Embassies (AIE), Mexico City, Mexico
2022 Fahrenheit 2022, Glow Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
2021-2022 Still Life, The Franklin, Chicago, IL
2021 Intersect, Brandt-Roberts Galleries, Columbus, OH
2021 Clearing, La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Fugue State, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
2020 Solo Un Poco Aqui, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2020 Vespertine, Dunedin Art Center, Dunedin, FL
2020 Women Heal Through Rite and Ritual, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD
2020 3rd Midwest Open, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2019 DARK, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2019 Looking at Things Directly, North Park University, Chicago, IL
2017 Polarity, Gold Gallery, Boston, MA
2015 Chicago Paints, Ohio University of Art and Design, Athens, Ohio
2015 La Muerte Niña, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2015, Nuestras Historias, Stories of Mexican Identity from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2014 Border Crossings, Expo Chicago at Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
2013 She Divided the World into Thirds, North Park University, Chicago, IL
2012 Memorias y Sueños, Cliff Dwellers Club, Chicago, IL
2012 Ways of Making: Painting, Governors State University, University Park, IL
2012 From What I Remember/ From What I Forget, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA
2011 Dia de Muertos XXV, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
2011 Get Real, 33 Collective Gallery, Chicago, IL
2010 Centerline, Zhou B. Arts Center, Chicago, IL
2009 Around the Coyote Spring and Fall Arts Festival, Chicago, IL
2009 Milwaukee Arts Fest, Chicago, IL
2009 Growing up CAD, Chicago Art Department Auction, Chicago, IL
2009 Behind the Wheel: A Celebration of Feminism, Framing Mode Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008 The Artist Project at the Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL
2008 Frame Warehouse Artist Weekends, Evanston, IL
2006 Little Village Arts Fest, Chicago, IL
2006 Perspectives on Immigration, Beverly Arts Center, Beverly, IL
2006 Day of the Dead: Rooted in Tradition, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Chicago, IL
2006 State of the Art, The Tavern Club, Chicago, IL
2006 Bachelor Graduating Exhibition, American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL
Print and Reviews
2023 “Uncommon Pairing: A review of Life Cycles at DePaul Art Museum,” Newcity Art, September 13, 2023
2023 “Grief, Longing and Growing Within it All,” Create! Magazine, Issue 35, 2023
2023 “After 25 Years, an Artist’s Home Reopens as an Art Gallery,” Hyperallergic, February 5, 2023
2022 “Pebbles in the sea: A review of Unseen Things are Still There at Riverside Art Center,” Newcity Art, March 7, 2022
2021 “Time, Tending and Porosity: Elsa Munoz and Chenoa Baker in Conversation,” Sixty Inches from Center, December 17, 2021
2021 “Elsa Muñoz undrowns her community with every painting” Chicago Reader, May 25, 2021
2020 “Myrtis Bedolla is Deploying Art to Address Political and Social Issues” Whitewall Magazine, October 28, 2020
2014 “Elsa Muñoz Sea and Landscapes,” Recommended, Newcity Art, November 2014
2013 “30 Under 30” Art Business News, November 2013
2012 “Good Art on View in Chicago,” Paul Klein Art Letter, April 5, 2012
2012 “Elsa Munoz @ Dubhe Carreno Gallery,” IPaintMyMind, April 12, 2012
2012 “Elsa Munoz at the Dubhe Carreno Gallery,” Examiner.com, April 7, 2012
2011 “Top 5 of Everything 2011: Art” for ‘Claro y Obscuro’ at NMMA, Newcity Art, December 21, 2011
2011 “Elsa Muñoz’s Claro y Obscuro,” CBSnews, October 17, 2011
2011 “Elsa Muñoz/National Museum of Mexican Art,” Newcity Art, Aug 23, 2011
2011 “Elsa Muñoz — Interview,” Chicago Art Magazine, July 12, 2011
Artist Talks & Residencies
2023 San Jacopo Artist in Situ Residency, Tuscany, Italy
2022 Artist in Residence at Navelart Madrid, Spain
2022 Artist Talk, Brandt Roberts Galleries, Columbus, OH
2020 Artist Talk, North Park University, Chicago, IL
2019 Artist Talk, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
2019 Visiting Artist/Residency, American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL
2019 Artist Talk, American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL
Artist Workshops
2022 Creative Reset Retreat at DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
Book Covers
2022 Nombrar el Cuerpo by Maria Minguez Arias
2017 Mar en Los Huesos by Juana Iris Goergen
2015 The Female Complaint Edited by Rosalie Morales Kearns
2012 INPA 1 International Painting Annual, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Notable Collections
DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL — “The Great Turning,” 2024
Private Collection of Abby Pucker, Creator and founder of Gertie Chicago
North Park University, Chicago, IL — “Mano y Tierra,” 2017
National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL — “Drifting Sun,” 2010
Private Collection of Martin Castro, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights under President Barack Obama
Awards
2022 Spark Grant, Chicago Artist Coalition, Chicago, IL
2021 “Best of the Net” for “Summer Boy”, Jet Fuel Review Magazine
2019 Helen and Tim Meier Foundation For The Arts Achievement Award
Publications
2017 Fine Art Connoisseur Volume 14 Issue 4, August 2017
2015 The Female Complaint, Shade Mountain Press, cover art featuring “Copper Vessel,” 2012
2011 Manifest Gallery First International Painting Annual, Cincinnati, OH
2009 O&S Magazine (Volume 2 Issue 4, 2009)