Haniel aims for his work to serve as a platform of abject
action from peripheral opctics, far from the center, emerging from ruin, the
posthuman body, historical materialism, and freak theory.
Haniel Fonseca (Toluca, México, 1989) is a figurative painter with a Bachelor’s
degree in Art from the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana.
His work seeks to problematize the body and the violence that inhabits,
domesticates, disciplines and exploits it. He mainly use oil realism and, from there,
expands the paint to generate environments and atmospheres through the use of
installations, objects and video. His work is inspired by Sayak Valencia's concept of
“Gore Capitalism”, which describes the economic and symbolic system that
manages death in Mexico. Haniel aims for his work to serve as a platform of abject
action from peripheral opctics, far from the center, emerging from ruin, the
posthuman body, historical materialism, and freak theory.
He has exhibited in around 70 shows in Mexico, the United States, Chile, Iran, and
Guatemala. He has been selected for various biennials and competitions, including
the Bienno degli Artisti 2.0 artist residency (Italy), MAQRO Human Figure Biennial
2025, and won the acquisition award at the Guillermo Sepúlveda Biennial 2025.
Other recognitions include Trámite: Collectors Bureau 2024, XIII Alfredo Zalce
Biennial, International University Art Biennial 2020, Julio Castillo National Painting
Biennial 2019, Royal Talens National Painting Competition 2019, Lumen Painting
Open 2017, Exatec Biennial 2016, José Atanasio Monroy Painting Biennial 2016,
UNAM Visual Arts Biennial 2016, and the Eighth Grupo Reforma Art Showcase.
His work has appeared in publications and catalogs in Mexico, Argentina, Chile,
the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, and France. Founder of Vapor de Cleveland
Gallery, he has served as a curator and project manager in various artistic
initiatives. He currently resides in Querétaro, Mexico.