MARFA — The stark white facade of Ballroom Marfa facing the town’s main thoroughfare was recently transformed thanks to a new mural by artist Ozzie Juarez. Juarez — who is from Compton, California — has been working on the project throughout the past week and is also a featured artist in the gallery’s forthcoming exhibition Los Encuentros.
Juarez explained his vision for the mural:
“For the mural project, I decided to imagine a new deity and dedicate his spirit to the Ballroom Marfa building. Coatzomaki, whose name fuses “Coatl” (serpent) and “ozomatli” (Monkey). Coatzomaki is a god born of convergence, a sacred fusion of serpent and monkey, embodying the dynamic balance between earth and sky, instinct and creativity, gravity and joy. His form coils and leaps simultaneously, reflecting the belief that transformation is not chaos, but a sacred rhythm, a continual unfolding of the self.
With the serpent’s ancient wisdom and the monkey’s agile curiosity, Coatzomaki becomes a living axis between grounded presence and spiritual ascent. He is not a god of trickery, but of purpose — guiding those in moments of change, healing, or awakening. His teachings live not in static doctrine but in movement itself: in dance, in ritual, in breath. Revered by artists, dancers, wanderers, and seekers, he blesses those who walk the edge of identity, those who shift, adapt, and grow while staying true to an inner thread of spirit. His temples are found in nature’s thresholds: jungle clearings, canyon passages, and the quiet space between thought and action.
This sacred duality makes Coatzomaki the embodiment of Los Encuentros — the vital, generative meeting of opposites. He shows us that identity is not a fixed form but a layered being, built in collision and connection. Just as he binds together monkey and serpent, body and spirit, past and potential, so too does Los Encuentros speak to the possibility that emerges when distinct forces come into relation. In every spiral, every shedding of skin, every leap into uncertainty, there is a chance to create something new. Coatzomaki’s presence reminds us that through movement, renewal, and openness to the in-between, we find our truest shape. He is not just a deity, but a mythic symbol of growth through union — proof that all encounters, when held with care, can become creation.”
You can see more of Juarez’s work on Instagram @ozziejuarez and a related story the Los Encuentros exhibition here.