Jose Enriquez was born in Alagansi Ecuador, a small town in the valley surrounding the capital of Quito. He is the son of a mixed (Spanish and Native) father and an indigenous mother.

In 1984, he entered the Central University of Ecuador in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Language. During his student life, he participated in various poetry competitions, always trying to use the written word as a way of expressing his ideas and feelings about the indigenous people of Ecuador. He tried to express the idea that the indigenous person "exists" and is not a person at the margin of the mainstream cultures, which, unfortunately, in that time was the reality for many of Ecuador's indigenous population.

After completion of his university studies, he searched for other ways in which he could express his ideas, and decided to put them on canvas. He was greatly influenced by the indigenous style of painting known as "Tigua" (a community that is found in the skirts of the Chimborazo volcano) and thus joined to the group formed by the ex-students of the renowned Endara Crow.

As a Spanish teacher to foreign students, he was able to combine his art with his work bringing this aspect to Ecuadorian culture to those of European and North American backgrounds. Initially, he painted on t-shirts and then, later on canvas.

The themes of his art generally show the scenery, customs and traditions of daily life of indigenous and mestizo people, both in the Coast, the Highlands and the Jungle. He places emphasis on the important elements for the people, such as trains, fish, horses, bells, fruit, fauna, churches, and traditional houses. The paintings are highly detailed and full of bright colours. His style and imagination combine to create a visual 'fiesta' which takes the public to a marvelous world of fantasy and magic realism. For example, the train, the initial form of travel from mountains to coastal regions, symbolizes the union of the people in the highlands and on the coast. The giant bubbles and eggs are symbols of hope and new life. The bell continues to be a form of announcing important events from one village to another.

In his short time living in Toronto, he has begun to include elements of the Canadian landscape such as bears, geese and buildings into his artwork, thus combining his love for his homeland with his new home.

Website designed by Alfonso Carcamo. All rights reserved.