About Luis Guerrero

An emerging San Antonio metal artist, Luis Guerrero has taken the mysticism and rich history of the Mexican-American community and transformed it into a body of "heavy metal" work that speaks volumes.Stationed in Southtown, the section of the Alamo City where artists and writers flock to their traditional studios and lofts, Guerrero's art gallery neighbors some of the city's most profound Chicano Barrio artists.

Guerrero is a San Antonio, TX native who has a unique understanding of the Mexican-American community and a talent to breath life into scrap metal, transforming thoughts, myths and memories into original art sculptures.

Luis Guerrero Biography

Luis Guerrero is a metal artist whose sculptures represent special aspects of the Mexican-American community. His extraordinary blend of metal and insight on the Mexican-American culture have forged a body of work that speaks volumes. 

In 1996, Guerrero converted his 10-years of welding experience into a metal art form in the garage of  his northside San Antonio home. There he discovered his ability to fuse and transform pieces of metal, diesel engine parts and junkyard scraps into symbolic, meaningful sculptures that truly capture the evolving Mexican-American culture, its ongoing struggle, present day myths and musical legends.

The 42-year-old began his attempt at educating the mainstream community of Mexican-American culture in a art gallery gift shop in downtown San Antonio, Texas.  After being denied the opportunity to further display his pieces, Guerrero united with Joe Lopez, an accomplished San Antonio Chicano Barrio artist.  Presently, Guerrero's art studio and Gallery neighbors Lopez's Gallista Studio/Gallery in Southtown San Antonio, the city's version of "Soho", a mecca of contemporary artists, traditional studios and lofts for the artistically inclined. 

Guerrero is a member of Joe Lopez y Los Vatos Locos,14 artists who are reputable for producing some the city's most captivating art on behalf of the Mexican-American community. 

Guerrero's company name, Ay Chispas, translated to "There are sparks" in English, originates from the flickers of fire that shoot through the air when his welding tools are fusing metal together.

His one-of-a-kind metal art sculptures have been featured in San Antonio art shows, Ay Chispas, Las Cruces de Luis, and a recent show in San Benito, TX, Joe Lopez y Los Vatos Locos: The Lost Breed. 

The San Antonio native also creates furniture such as bed frames and tables and uniquely crafted crosses. His most notable pieces are El Chupacabra (logo), a mythological vampire-like creature, whose legend credits it with terrorizing farm animals in Latin America and South Texas; La Mano Del Diablo (The Hand of the Devil), a chain made sculpture of a migrant worker using an outlawed fanning toot - the short-handled hoe; and Flaco Jimenez, a salute to the five-time Grammy award- winning Conjunto music accordion player. 

Guerrero was bom and raised on the eastside of San Antonio. He, his wife of 22 years, Belinda, and his 21-year-old daughter, April, currently reside in San Antonio.