Changarreando with Luis Coss: Instagram Takeover

About the Artist

Luis Coss was born on October 22, 1985 in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, a border town with Laredo, TX. After living in Nuevo Laredo for most of his life, Coss moved to San Antonio, where the beginning of his artistic career began. Struggling to accommodate the new changes of life in an American High School, Coss dedicated his time to art. After Coss graduated from high school, he moved back to Mexico, where he later studied Graphic Design.

After the completion of his studies, Coss moved to Laredo, Texas where he then joined “Hecho a Mano” a local group who does monthly art markets. There, he made small acrylic paintings on 2”x2” canvases interpreting famous artwork from Van Gogh to Monet, and later started experimenting on bigger canvases and creating original artwork. As of now, Coss has been part of many art markets, and has entered different art contests, winning his first in 2018 for an HIV awareness Project with the City of Laredo.

In 2018 Coss started working on his first collection, “Centro de la Luna” with a predominant Mexican culture theme. His interest for the Mexican mythology and the Pre-Hispanic era has been his main inspiration for the 21 piece collection, which was later displayed at Hotel La Posada in 2019. His dream is to make a living out of his artwork, and it has inspired him to travel to present and sell his artwork outside his town.

Artist Statement

“My name is Luis Coss, I’m an artist and my medium is acrylic on canvas. My collection predominates the Mexican culture theme. My interest for the Mexican mythology and the Pre-Hispanic era has been my main inspiration for this collection. One has so much material when you use Mexico as an inspiration, starting with the origin of its civilizations. Today’s Mexico is built by their origin, the tradition, gastronomy and religions.

The stories have been passed over through generations, interweaving myth with reality, creating a magical Mexico, with history and traditions, full of colors and characters. There is a point where it is hard to differentiate between myth and reality. Personally, I like to combine both stories and use them when I paint. Like Quetzalcoatl, a mythical god, which means the feathered serpent, I portray him in his god form and as the quetzal and the serpent entwined. Tonantzin Cuatlicue, translated as “our mother” and “mother of gods,” was a goddess worshiped by the Mexicas, but with the arrival of the Spaniards, natives were bound to leave their old religion and convert to Catholicism. The transition was facilitated when they were introduced to the Virgin Mary, though it was from another religion, was accepted by the natives due to the similarities to their Tonantzin. This can explain the devotion of the Mexican nation to our Lady of Guadalupe. When I paint Tonantzin combine it with the image of the Virgin Mary, representing their connection. I can’t write in a painting a story as long as the origin of the Mexican culture, but I can plant the seed of curiosity to invite others to learn.

My paintings present symbols and characters that some viewers may recognize, but anyone can learn from. I choose titles for my paintings that are in Nahuatl or using their original god names to make its audience wonder the meanings, which I’m glad to explain, but nonetheless I expect them to start their own journey into rich Mexican history.”

Artists have the opportunity to sell their art on the Changarrito cart in front of the Museum (or an offsite location, as representative for the Museum during various Austin festivals). Changarreando expands the reach of the artist by presenting their gallery online, while allowing the option to sell merch over Instagram and receive 100% of the sale.

Luis Coss featured his artwork on the Changarrito cart outside the Museum’s entrance on Novemberr 10th and 18th, 2020.

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