Cuban Osvaldo Sánchez Crespo, considered a key figure in the history of the art Contemporary of Mexicohe died this Saturday at age 77 years in the city of Mérida, Yucatán, several media of that nation reported.
Sánchez Crespo, who was born in Havana in 1958 and arrived in Mexico in 1990, suffered cancer, said a note published by the newspaper El Universal.
His “work leaves an indelible mark on the history of contemporary art in Mexico,” said the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal), through its account in X.
The inbal deeply regrets the death of Osvaldo Sánchez Crespo, a leading curator, critic and director of museums, whose work leaves an indelible mark on the history of contemporary art in Mexico. As director of the Carrillo Gil Museum, Tamayo Museum and Museum of … pic.twitter.com/15vec7o8ky
– National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (@bellasartesinba) SEPTEMBER 6, 2025
The institution highlighted the poet, curator and art critic for his “innovative vision, intellectual rigor and commitment to national artistic production”, as well as for his projection that “opened paths for different generations of artists, curators, managers and researchers in our country.”
Since his arrival in Mexico, Sánchez Crespo began a relevant work that led him to assume the direction of the Carrillo Gil Museum of Art (1997-2000), one of the institutions of this type that led throughout his career.
He was also in charge of the Museum of Contemporary Art Rufino Tamayo and the Museum of Modern Art (207-2012), highlights the medium.
His work was beyond the leadership of these important cultural centers in the country, since he was also co -founder of the Contemporary Art Board in Mexico.
In addition, its imprint transcended the Mexican borders, being part of the Documenta 14, Kasel Curator Selection Committee, as well as the Hous Der Kulturen Der Welt Advisory Committee, in Berlin (2008-2016).
The outstanding intellectual also served as a guest professor at the Higher School of Art of Yucatán (2013-2014) and directed Casa Gallina, a cultural space that became an honorary member of the Board of Directors.
It underlines the publication that the death of Osvaldo Sánchez was lamented by figures of Mexican culture, including Ana Elena Mallet, a curator specialized in design.
“Mentor, friend, essential character for my training and that of many generations of managers and curators in MX and beyond (…). I will miss his lucidity, his generosity, his humor, his temper and his conviction,” wrote the specialist in her social networks.
Marisol Argüelles, director of the Carrillo Gil Museum of Art; Alfonso Miranda, director of the Soumaya Museum, and institutions such as UNAM culture and the creation support system were other personalities and institutions that offered their condolences for death.
