‘AI will never be human’: Mexican artist José Zendejas Foyo on art, emotion and his first India exhibition

What does love look like when there is no face, figure or story to represent it? For Mexican artist José Zendejas Foyo, the answer lies in colour, texture and gesture. Born in San Luis Potosí, he began painting in his early teens but initially pursued architecture before returning to painting. Now, his first solo exhibition in India, Amores, presented by Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art, explores love in its many forms — fleeting, tender, toxic and lost.

In conversation with Indulge Express, the artist opens up more…

A creative childhood and his first painting

Art was part of Zendejas Foyo’s everyday life growing up. Recalling his childhood, he says, “From a young age I was surrounded by images, objects, drawings, architecture and conversations about art.”

He began painting seriously in his early teens and made his first large-format painting at around 16. That moment also helped him recognise painting as something deeply personal. Today, he works intuitively, beginning with emotion and allowing the work to evolve through gesture, accidents and layers.

Discovering India through colour, craft and Amores

Zendejas says his first show in India is particularly meaningful. India has fascinated him for years, particularly its cultural traditions and visual language. “I am deeply drawn to its rituals, religions and the sense of mystery surrounding its culture,” he says.

He sees a natural connection between the exhibition and its new setting: “Even from a distance, I feel there are many points of connection between Amores and India — colour, emotion, symbolism, spirituality and intensity.”

“A work can travel further than the artist, enter another culture and begin a conversation of its own,” he says.

AI, humanity and what makes an artist

Zendejas sees AI as “simply another challenge for artists”. But while technology can generate images, he believes it cannot replicate the lived experience behind human creativity.

“AI will never be human. We live, we feel, we love, we suffer, we make mistakes and we carry memories. We create from those experiences,” he says.

“It is everything that happened before it existed: the artist’s history, emotions, failures, accidents and decisions,” he explains.

He does not dismiss AI as a tool, but believes its real challenge for artists is to look inward. “It challenges us to go deeper into what makes us human — not simply what we are capable of producing, but what we have lived in order to create it.”

Entry free. Till November 18, 11 am onwards. At Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art Gallery (AMCA), Wodehouse Road, Mumbai.

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