ARTIST BIO:
 
Born 
in 
Nicaragua,
 
raised
 in 
New
 York
 City, 
Chris
 Mendoza
 draws
 from
 both
 cultures 
in 
his
 dazzlingly 
precise 
and
 detailed 
abstract
 works. Working
 primarily 
in 
ink, 
paint 
and 
mixed
 media 
(deconstructed
 barcodes 
and
 international 
postal 
label s
tagged 
with 
graffiti), 
he
 constructs
 entire 
worlds
 and 
self‐contained
 systems
 of 
varying
 degrees
 of
 complexity.
 
The
 son 
of
 an
 architect,
 Mendoza
 is
 gripped
 by
 the
 mechanics 
of 
urban
 life: 
the
 architecture 
of 
infrastructure;
 the 
interactions 
between
 humanity
 and
 between
 humanity
 and 
machines;
 the
 rhythm 
of 
rituals;
 and
 the
 intricacies
 of 
written
 language. Mendoza
 has
 studied 
Mayan,
 Central 
and 
Native 
American 
civilizations
 and 
cultures,
 and 
he 
has 
pored 
over 
their 
scripts,
 glyphs 
and
 calligraphies.
Those 
elements 
lie 
at 
the 
heart 
of 
his 
imagery,
 through
 which 
he 
displays 
exacting
 precision 
that
 is 
equally 
remarkable 
for 
its
 impulse
 and 
intuition.
 
He 
has 
exhibited 
at 
Joshua 
Liner 
Gallery 
and
 White 
Box 
in 
New
 York
 City; 
Southeastern 
Center 
for 
Contemporary 
Art 
in 
Winston‐Salem, 
N.C.;
 Transport
 Gallery 
in
 Los 
Angeles; 
Museo
de 
Arte 
in 
San 
Juan,
Puerto
 Rico; 
Beams 
in 
Tokyo; 
and 
Phillips 
Collection 
in 
Washington, 
D.C.;
 among 
many 
others.
 
Early 
in
 his 
career, 
Mendoza 
was 
an 
integral 
member 
of 
the
 Barnstormers, 
a
 highly 
influential 
collective 
of
 artists, 
which 
included
 artists 
Shepard 
Fairey, 
Swoon, 
Jose 
Parla
 and 
David 
Ellis among 
them.
 The 
Barnstormers, 
based 
in 
New 
York, 
North 
Carolina 
and 
Tokyo,
 worked
 together 
to
 create 
art, highlighting
 their diverse 
backgrounds
 with 
styles 
that 
complemented, 
clashed 
and 
fed
 off 
each
other. This 
is evidenced 
in
 their 
site‐specific 
installations 
and 
frenetic 
and
 stunning
 video 
collaborations.
 
If 
those 
videos 
represent 
the 
improvisational 
communication 
most
 associated 
with 
jazz, 
Mendoza,
 in 
his 
solo 
work,
 captures 
a 
more
 symphonic 
motif, 
adroitly 
balancing
 dynamic
 dissonance 
with
 an
 overwhelming
 sense 
of 
order.