Take what you have, make what you need.

Claudia Gutierrez
Guillermo Trejo

July 18 – August 30, 2025

Opening Reception | July 18, 2025 6-9 pm

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In this new body of work, Guillermo Trejo examines the legacy of architectural modernism through repeated geometric motifs, modular compositions, and serialized mark-making that reference the aesthetics of standardization and mechanical reproduction. He explores how modernist ideals were often imported into Latin America as models of progress designed to mirror European and North American nations. Yet within the Latin American context, the aesthetics and ideologies of modernism were never fully reconciled within local cultures.

At the core of Trejo’s series is an interrogation of authorship and the value systems attached to artistic labour. His works deliberately embrace imperfections, retaining marks of the hand that interrupt the promise of mechanical precision. This gesture highlights the tension between the industrial ideals of modernism and the realities of human presence and fallibility.

Guillermo Trejo is a Mexican/Canadian Artist based in Ottawa. He completed his BFA at the National School of Painting Sculpture and Engraving in Mexico City with a specialization in printmaking and moved to Canada in 2007. The experience of immigration and distance has shaped Trejo's work. Since moving to Ottawa, he has earned an MFA from the University of Ottawa and has been an active member of the artistic community. He has exhibited at the Ottawa Art Gallery, Galerie Saw Gallery, and other artist-run centers across the country as well as in Europe and Mexico. Trejo has worked as a research consultant for the National Gallery of Canada Canada. He also teaches at the Ottawa School of Art (OSA). 

Check out more of Guillermo Trejo's work on his website.