Perla Arroyo

I am a Mexican visual artist and creator of the project Calavera Mexicana®, a proposal that reinterprets the skull as a cultural symbol in Mexico, exploring it as a metaphor for identity, spirituality, and memory.

I work with ancestral techniques such as bronze lost-wax casting, in dialogue with new technologies like 3D modeling, while also developing sculptural installations and historical research that enrich my practice.

My research studies the representation of the skull symbol from pre-Hispanic Mexico, with figures such as Coatlicue, Coyolxauhqui, and the Huey Zompantli, and traces its reinterpretation through Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Diego Rivera, José Guadalupe Posada, Frida Kahlo, and into contemporary art with creators like Teresa Margolles. This historical and cultural continuum informs my work, positioning the skull as a living metaphor that evolves across time and artistic languages.

My training began at the CEDART Diego Rivera (INBAL), continued with a Bachelor’s Degree in Design at the INBAL School of Design, and culminated with a Master’s in Visual Arts at the Academy of San Carlos (UNAM), where I strengthened my critical thinking, visual research, and interdisciplinary artistic practice.

Museo De La Cancilleria, Mexico City
Calavera Mexicana, Identidad y Memoria
May 5 – July 26, 2026

Federico Silva Museum of Contemporary Sculpture, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Calavera Mexicana
September 19, 2025 – January 31, 2026

Museum of Women, UNAM-UNIFEM-FEMU, Mexico City
Calavera Mexicana
September 6 – October 31, 2025

Gallery of Time, UAM Azcapotzalco, Mexico City
Calavera Mexicana
March 11 – April 11, 2025

Jesús Reyes Heroles Cultural Center, Mexico City
Calavera Mexicana
October 16 – November 17, 2024

Casa Nuestra, Former Headquarters of the Mexican Senate, Mexico City
Calavera Mexicana. Symbol of Life
Curator: Luis Ignacio Sáinz | Coordinator: Salvador Vera
October 15 – November 17, 2023

Marie José and Octavio Paz House, Mexico City
Calavera Mexicana. Symbol of Life and Death
Curator: Mónica H. Arrieta | Coordinator: Leticia Luna
October 27 – November 7, 2023

Group Exhibitions
Casa Jaime Sabines, Mexico City
Death and the Dead
September 2025 – April 2026

Claroscuro Gallery, Mexico City
ARTWEEK Mexico
January – February 2024

EM Art Gallery, Pedregal Cultural Center, Mexico City
Special Collection
December 6 – 12, 2024

Claroscuro Gallery, Mexico City
Art to Go
November 30 – D...