Rafael Contreras was born in San Miguel Chapultepec, Mexico City, in the bosom of a family closely related to the arts and culture. His father was an actor and his mother was descended from Valentín Canalizo, president of Mexico in 1843. As a child, Contreras Canalizo lived in a house close to the Bosque de Chapultepec where he got used to observing nature and often perceiving its changes and secrets.

Rafael’s academic backgrounds come from the contemplation of the great landscape pieces of art, an idea of totality, according to the totality of vision. That is to say, the purpose of this artist is to interpret and represent reality, not only as a sum of uncountable details that coexist  and are considered separately, but as a whole optic unit inside of which no fragment or piece leaves out a shade of color.

As a self-taught painter, Rafael has spent most of his 30-year, nature-loving path, improving his technique to originally and uniquely express his idea of a landscape,  wonderfully gifted for reflecting light phenomena, that develop in the spectator the desire of a further exploration of nature and its magic.

Contreras Canalizo has been gifted to express in such a wonderful way everything around him. It can be a human figure, objects, nature and architecture, plants, animals and other elements in the cosmos. He sums up in the landscape art not only all his uneasiness of investigate new concepts and techniques, but also his love and respect for history and geography.

Regardless ephemeral tendencies, this artist follow a path in a poetic and flexible expression, standing out aspects of the important movements of his time, for which he has a significant and brilliant work. This allows him to innovate the landscape, giving the sensation of a new discovered world seen by the very first time.

This notion of totality represents all his work, giving it a non common sense of originality and vanguardism.

Rafael Contreras Canalizo is an artist who is close to the next modern scientist, because of his thoroughly exploration of everything he sees and his technical skills to express it.  All this is mixed proportionally in a philosophical declaration.

BERTA TARACENA
Historian and Art Critic
Member of the International Association of Art Critics. 
(Association Internationale des Critiques D’Arts) 

• Private Collections, Worldwide. 
  Contreras Canalizo's artwork is among private Collections of Politicians, Corporate directors, business executives, and others.

• Art Exhibition at the Club House of the Palmilla One&Only Golf Course. San José del Cabo. Baja California Sur. México. 
  (January 2011- Current)

• Published Article by Vida&Casa Magazine.  (March 2011)

• R. Contreras Canalizo donates a painting and a percentage from the sales of his paintings to the Benefit of the Los Cabos Children's Foundation participating at the Duckett Challenge 2011. (March 2011)

• Art Exhibition at the Club House of the Palmilla One&Only Golf Course. San José del Cabo. Baja California Sur. México. 
  (April 2010-June 2010)

• R.Contreras Canalizo donates a painting for the benefit of the Los Cabos Children's Foundation, San José del Cabo. Baja California Sur. México. (June 2010)

• Published Article by the newspaper Noticias, voz e imagen de Chiapas. Tuxtla Gutierréz, Chiapas. México 
  (March 2010)

• Published Article by the newspaper Noticias, voz e imagen de Chiapas. Tuxtla Gutierréz, Chiapas. México 
  (August 2009)

• Published Article by Gringo Gazette. San José del Cabo. Baja California Sur. México (January 2009)

• Published Article by Gringo Gazette. San José del Cabo. Baja California Sur. México (November 2008)

• Rafael Contreras Canalizo opens his own Art Gallery ‘Contreras Canalizo, Galería de Arte’. San José del Cabo. Baja California Sur. México. (October 2008)

• Private exhibitions. México City (2007-2008)

• Interview by Infogolf Mexico for TV. ESPN2 Latinoamerica at the event of Berta Taracena  (June 2006)

• Rafael Contreras Canalizo is invited to attend the Presentation of Berta Taracena's book at the Club de Industriales at the Marriott Hotel in Mexico City as one of the main expositors for the event. (June 2006)

• Art Critic and Art Historian Berta Taracena, one of the most important Art Critics in Mexico and internationally known, chooses this artist's work (Golf Courses) for her final part of her book “Estética del Arte Mexicano en el Tiempo, Berta Taracena. Pensamiento y Obra" within the vanguard part of the book as a perfect closing (2006)

• Art Gallery Roberto Misrachi. Hotel Nikko Mexico city (2006-2007)

• Exposition. Celebrity Golf Tournament. Los Encinos. Edo. México.(December 2005)

• Interview by Infogolf Mexico for TV. ESPN2 Latinoamerica  (November 2005)

• Published Article by Infogolf for the Newspaper ‘Par7’ . “Por la niñez deportista” (November 2005)

• R.Contreras Canalizo donates a painting for the benefit of the Children of ‘Promotora Golf Uno, Clinic of the Foundation Tiger Woods’
  at the 48 Abierto Mexicano de Golf. Club de Golf La Hacienda. Edo. México. (November 2005)

• R. Contreras Canalizo donates a painting for the benefit of the Bringas Haghenbeck Foundation. Club Campestre. México City. 
  (April 2005)

• Exposition at the Shopping Mall Perisur. México, city.  (March 2005)

• Article Published. Magazine Golf Tournament, written by Berta Taracena - Art Critic- México City (March 2005)

• Exposition at the Club de Golf La Hacienda. Mexico city, (November 2004)

• Exposition Club de Golf Madeiras. Lago de Guadalupe. Edo. México (2005)

• Expogolf México City (2004)

• Exposition. Club de Golf Los Encinos. Mexico city (2004)

• Exposition. Hotel Camino Real. Senior Golf Championship. México City (2003)

• Exposition. Club de Golf Bellavista. Edo. México. (2003)

• Exposition. Hotel Marriott Casa Magna. PGA World Championship. Puerto Vallarta. Jal, México (2002)

• Exposition. Comitán, Chiapas. México (2000)

• Exposition. Instituto Cultural Mexicano Norteamericano.Guadalajara, Jal (1998) 

• Galería del Bosque. (Gallery) (1998)

• Private exhibitions:(1994-1998) Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas. México 

• Exposition "Doce maestros de la plástica mexicana"at the Club de Golf Santa Anita, Guadalajara, Jal (1993)

• Auction for the benefit of the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara (1992) 

• Auction for the benefit of the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara (1991) 

• Collective Exposition. Misioneros del Espíritu Santo Guadalajara, Jal (1987)