Xavier Viramontes - prints and biography

Biography

Xavier Viramontes (b. 1943, Richmond, California) is a painter, printmaker, and educator whose work reflects a deep engagement with Chicano identity and social justice. Raised in a Mexican-American household, he developed an early interest in art that carried him through military service and eventually into formal study. He earned a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and later an MA in Printmaking from San Francisco State University.

Viramontes is best known for his etchings and serigraphs, where bold colors and symbolic imagery communicate themes of heritage, labor, and cultural pride. In the 1970s he became active in the Bay Area Chicano art movement, producing prints, posters, and murals that supported community struggles for equality and recognition. His “Boycott Grapes” poster, created in support of the United Farm Workers, became an enduring symbol of solidarity and remains one of his most recognized works.

Alongside his art practice, Viramontes has spent decades as an educator, teaching printmaking and design at City College of San Francisco. His work has been exhibited widely in the U.S. and abroad and is represented in both public and private collections. His approach balances serious political and cultural subjects with a visual style that is direct, vibrant, and accessible.

Through his dual role as artist and teacher, Viramontes has helped to shape new generations of artists while contributing to the ongoing narrative of Chicano art. His career demonstrates how printmaking can function as both personal expression and a tool of social change.