Afilador (2022) – Luis José Ramírez Cortés
From the series “Códigos Mexicanos”
At the center he sits—focused, bent forward, completely absorbed in his movement. The knife sharpener presses the pedals of his grinding wheel, and with every rotation it seems that not only metal is being sharpened, but time itself. Sparks scatter like tiny stars around his hands, a quiet shimmer against the light blue background.
He wears a shirt reminiscent of flowers and festivities—colors of everyday life, colors of the street. His posture is calm yet powerful. The wheel before him is both circle and symbol: of return, of rhythm, of the perpetual turning of life. The afilador is a figure announced in many Mexican cities by his distinctive sound—a wandering guardian of sharpness, a keeper of usefulness, an understated chronicler of neighborhoods.
Around him, delicate blue silhouettes of other figures float: musicians, vendors, children, workers. They appear like memories or echoing presences, like codes of a shared experience. Each represents a facet of Mexican daily life—work and play, effort and music. Together they form a visual archive of lived experience.
In the series “Códigos Mexicanos,” Luis José Ramírez Cortés condenses these scenes into a poetic symbolic language. Born in Oaxaca, trained at the Academy of San Carlos and further educated at the University of the Arts in Warsaw, the artist combines graphic clarity with narrative sensitivity. His works have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at art biennials.
In collaboration with Mexhaus/Ramirez Handels, original works are created around the theme “Everyday Life in Mexico.” “Afilador” is a quiet homage to those professions often overlooked yet essential to the social fabric—to people who trace their circles with patience and rhythm.
A work that translates the sound of the street into color.
Available through Mexhaus/Ramirez Handels. A certificate of authenticity is included.
Folge uns !
