Behailu Bezabih, an artist from Ethiopia, recently visited Berlin to complete his masters degree in art. While in the city, he painted and had an exhibition in a Berlin gallery, the Studio am Schloss.

I was recently surprised by a request for some photos of the Canadian/Mexican artist, Arnold Belkin, that I took in Mexico City almost 20 years ago.

Born in Calgary, but raised in Vancouver, in 1947, aged just 18, Belkin decided that following the path of Canadian landscape artists was not for him and headed to Mexico City and its muralists. He quickly established himself as an outstanding artist. By the early 50s he had established a friendship with the painter Siqueiros, working with him on a mural in Mexico City’s Custom hall.

By the middle of that decade Belkin had become an important and sought after artist, completely immersed in the tradition of Mexican art, it’s revolutionary history and muralism. His costume designs graced over 40 Mexican theatre productions.

I spent more than a week with Belkin and his wife and collaborator, Patricia Quijano Ferrer. One afternoon he eagerly brought out large boxes of his drawings and paintings. Belkin’s work has a distinctly leftist identity and each piece: a sketch of Che Guevara laid out in death, or the trials of the peasant in Mexican history, carefully represented his view of the topic. For Belkin, art was about ideas and political liberation.

Belkin, very ill at the time, took me on grand tours of the huge city in his aging and very questionable Beatle. He would remember a mural of his that he thought I might like to see and along the way we would have a meal at one of his haunts, or pop in to see an artist friend for a short chat. Despite his ill-health he had kept his immense energy.

Arnold Belkin is one of Mexico and Latin America’s most famous painters. Though not well known in his native land, he is also regarded as one of Canada’s greatest artists.

Arnold Belkin, a Mexican citizen, died of lung cancer in Mexico City in 1992.

I like to think that he was a friend of mine.

More of Arnold Belkin. View.

More photos from Mexico. View.

Thomas needed some of his paintings photographed for an exhibition catalogue.

Thomas Schliesser website. View.

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