Consuelo (Chelo) González Amézcua
(1903–1975)
BornPiedras Negras, Mexico
DiedDel Rio, Texas, United States
BiographyConsuelo “Chelo” González Amézcua called her intricate drawings with ballpoint pen “Filigree Art,” recalling the lace-like metalwork of the filigree jewelry made by Mexican silversmiths. She limited herself to the available colors in inexpensive ballpoint pens—mostly black but also red, green, and blue—as she preferred how they allowed her to make long, fluid lines without worrying about the ink running out. She did not work from sketches and instead outlined forms on cardboard or paper before filling them with dense patterns. Her ornate imagery often referenced her Mexican American heritage, from Aztec rulers to Mesoamerican architecture, as well as her interest in ancient Egypt, female biblical figures, and global mythology. Flowers and birds, particularly peacocks, fill the scenes, evoking mystical gardens. Before she took up drawing, she carved river stones and, since childhood, she had loved performing, including dancing, singing, and reading her poetry. These poems appear in her art, sometimes on the front as part of the drawing and sometimes inscribed on the back. In one of them she wrote, about her self-taught practice, “School of arts I couldn’t afford / And for that I thank the Lord / For what he has given me is the truth of his great love / For him I write / And carve a stone / And make a drawing / And sing a song.”
Amézcua was born in 1903 in Piedras Negras, Mexico. When she was young, her family moved to the small town of Del Rio, Texas, where she spent the rest of her life. She went to school for just six years, but she immersed herself in art, history, religion, and architecture. An early passion was music, and she wrote lyrics and played a range of instruments. She was offered a scholarship to an art school in Mexico in 1932, but she did not accept due to the death of her father. Only starting in the 1960s did she focus on drawing.
A 1968 solo show at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio brought recognition to her work, as did the support of Jacinto Quirarte, one of the first art historians to focus on the history of Chicano art, who featured her work on the cover of his influential book Mexican American Artists (1973). In her later years, she added new colors in crayon and felt-tip pen, always expressing her visions with elaborate compositions. She died in 1975 in Del Rio.
Allison C. Meier, 2025
This artist’s work was reviewed as part of “Rethinking Biography,” an initiative supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).