Manuel Rocha Iturbide
Manuel Rocha Iturbide, born in Mexico City in 1963, is a composer, sound artist, researcher and curator. He studied for his bachelor’s degree at UNAM, completed a master’s degree at Mills College, and earned a PhD in Music and Technology from the University of Paris VIII. His music has been performed across several continents, with commissions from institutions such as IMEB Bourges, the Cervantino Festival and the Arditti Quartet. He has received grants from Mexico’s National System of Creators, the Banff Centre for the Arts and the Japan Foundation. He has been awarded prizes in the Luigi Russolo Competition (Italy) and the Bourges Electroacoustic Music Competition (France), among others. He co-founded and served as curator of the International Sound Art Festival from 1999 to 2002.
Significant exhibitions in which he has participated include: Galerie Chantal Crousel (Paris, France, 1994); “Lines of Loss” at Artists Space (New York, 1997); Sydney Biennale (Australia, 1998); Project Rooms, ARCO Fair (1999); “Nothing” at Rooseum (Malmö, Switzerland, 2001); AVATAR (Quebec, Canada, 2002); Koldo Mitxelena (San Sebastián, Spain, 2007); Foro Internacional de las Culturas (Monterrey, 2007); McBean Gallery (San Francisco, 2010); Xng Dong Chaeng Space for Contemporary Art (Beijing, China, 2011); MUAC (Mexico City, 2012); Galería Le Laboratoire (Mexico City, 2012, 2014, 2016); Fondazione Prada (Venice, 2014); and ZONA MACO (2013 — Premio 1800 José Cuervo — 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
Rocha has taught courses in Art History and Aesthetics (1987–88), computer music (University of Paris VIII, 1995–96), interactive art (Centro Multimedia, 1997–98) and sound art (La Esmeralda), among others.
His work is held in major museums and collections, including the Jumex Collection / Fundación Jumex, MUAC UNAM, MUSAS Sonora, Colección Cuervo 1800, the Aimée Servitje Collection, and Fundación Bodega Otazu (Spain), among others. He recently presented his fourth solo exhibition, “Taxonomías Isomórficas”, at Galería Le Laboratoire.
