Roger von Gunten, a painter associated with Mexico’s Generación de la Ruptura whose vibrant abstractions helped push the country’s art beyond muralism, died Feb. 18, 2026. He was 92.
Von Gunten died at home in Tepoztlán, in the state of Morelos, in the early hours of the day. The cause of death was not disclosed. His wake was planned at his home, and he was to be cremated.
Born in Switzerland, von Gunten settled in Mexico in 1957 and became a Mexican citizen in 1980. His work aligned with a cohort of artists who rejected official cultural formulas and turned toward more personal, contemporary visual languages, with painting anchored in color and abstraction.
Museums mounted major surveys of his work during his lifetime, including a 1978 retrospective at the Museo de Arte Moderno and a 1989 retrospective at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes. Mexico honored him in 2014 with the Medalla Bellas Artes, the country’s Fine Arts Medal.
A tribute exhibition opened Jan. 29 at the Museo de la Ciudad de Cuernavaca, but he did not attend because of a sudden health problem; his son, Dylan, went in his place. His partner, painter Rosa Velasco, said he fell about three weeks before his death and then declined. Von Gunten’s career stayed closely identified with the Generación de la Ruptura and its break from muralism.