Antonio Nava Tirado, sculptor known for working with volcanic stone, dies

Mexico City. The sculptor Antonio Nava Tirado, known for working with volcanic stone, died in the early hours of Sunday the 14th, at the age of 76.

Born on February 29, 1948, Nava Tirado began his artistic studies at the IMSS Sculpture Workshop, from 1970 to 1971, he continued them at the National School of Painting and Sculpture (ENEG) “La Esmeralda”, from 1973 to 1974, and later at the Plastic Research and Experimentation Center, in 1982, created under the auspices of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature.

According to his friend and student Luis Valverde, he left several works unfinished, as well as pending educational projects and exhibitions. He was working on a retrospective exhibition for next October at the ENPEG, a tribute to his sculptural legacy, curated by Valverde. He also has an exhibition pending at the National Arts Centre.

Member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, Nava Tirado belonged to a generation of artists immersed in political, social and economic changes. However, his work remained far from socio-political criticism to focus on man, his relationship with nature and his link with the surrounding world, as well as with the cultures that preceded him – he took up pre-Hispanic elements -, it is noted in the website of the Amparo Museum, where his work was part of the Monterrey Biennial Winners exhibition. FEMSA Collection (2003).

Nava Tirado was one of the few Mexican artists who worked, in direct carving, with volcanic stone due to the hardness that characterizes this material.

He exhibited his work in various national and international venues, such as the House of Culture of Oaxaca, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey, Mexico City, Brazil and Australia. He has been recognized with the Triennial Sculpture Section Acquisition Award, Auditorium Gallery (INBA, 1982) and has represented Mexico at the First Ibero-American Sculpture Symposium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1982).

Nava Tirado is buried at the Anglo Americana Funerary, Camino a Sta. Fe 433, Maria G. de García Ruiz, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City.