Lulu Sotelo

Born 1958, Mexico City, Mexico
Has practiced at Creative Growth since 2009

Lulu Sotelo is greatly influenced by her upbringing in Mexico City. In her distinct figurative style, she creates portraits of herself, her friends, and characters from her favorite Mexican sitcom ‘El Chavo del Ocho’. With large heads, exaggerated facial features, and peg-like extremities, her characters are bright and colorful, sometimes accompanied by symbolic imagery. An admirer of fashion, Sotelo pays special attention to the clothing in her drawings, devising festive outfits from her imagination or rendering apparel true to life. In her textile practice, Sotelo combines painting, weaving, sewing, and embroidery (Lulu has invented her own embroidery knots) on clothes, and creates one-of-a-kind garments covered with her signature characters. Sotelo also makes her characters into plush dolls, complete with costumes and removable hats.

Lulu Sotelo está muy influenciada por su crianza en la Ciudad de México. En su distintivo estilo figurativo, crea retratos de ella misma, sus amigos y personajes de su comedia mexicana favorita 'El Chavo del Ocho'. Con cabezas grandes, rasgos faciales exagerados y extremidades en forma de espiga, sus personajes son brillantes y coloridos, a veces acompañados de imágenes simbólicas. Admiradora de la moda, Sotelo presta especial atención a la ropa en sus dibujos, ideando trajes festivos de su imaginación o haciendo que las prendas sean reales. En su práctica textil, Sotelo combina la pintura, el tejido, la costura y el bordado (Lulu ha inventado sus propios nudos de bordado) en la ropa y crea prendas únicas cubiertas con sus personajes característicos. Sotelo también convierte a sus personajes en muñecos de peluche, completos con disfraces y sombreros extraíbles.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2019   
Gifted: The Self-Taught Genius of Creative Growth, Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami, curated by Kim Hastreiter

2018   
Issue 3, Good Luck Gallery, Los Angeles

This installation is my childhood room in Mexico, where I grew up surrounded by my friends and family. We played with dolls and doll houses that looked like the ceramic pieces on the shelf, and watched my favorite shows El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado. The characters from the television are in the framed drawings on the wall. You see there, (left center) in the green hat, that’s El Chavo del Ocho and (right inner wall) in his red suit, El Chapulín Colorado. I’ve been wanting to make bigger dolls like you see up there in the middle. That’s me with a red chile on my head and a red dress. That’s my favorite color, red. Paintings of the Virgin of Guadalupe and la sirenita (mermaid) are on the front of the dress. The Virgin and la sirena are magical to me. I imagine myself like the mermaid, moving through the water and playing in the large open sea. Each night I light a candle with the image of the virgin to pray for the health and safety of my family. They alway encourage me with my art, “échale mas fuerte,” they tell me. So I’m always trying to work harder. 

Making the dolls at home and here Creative Growth, is like playing a game where I make and cut out the pieces, then sew them together. The dolls are made in the image of my family members. Like you see on the right wall, my brother Maru and my nephew Rudy who is no longer alive. And on the left wall are my Sisters Sonia and Rosa.  During the pandemic I wanted to surround myself with my entire family. I made so many dolls that I ran out of material and had to cut up my own clothing to make the parts of the doll and the stuffing. The dolls keep me company so I feel less alone. 

This room is so beautiful. I see myself with friends and family playing together in my home in mexico. And there I am on the bed, with a bedspread of mermaids, flowers, hearts and calacas. My head rests on pillows with calaveras, and I'm watching myself on television. It’s my favorite show, The Lulu show. It looks so pretty this room, like my childhood home where there is so much love.

*Calaca" refers to a skeleton and “calavera”  refers to a skull. Both terms are used in the context of honoring and celebrating the lives of the deceased and originate in Mayan traditions that survived the Spanish conquest. Calacas are representations of the dead celebrated in Mexican art and holidays, particularly Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).