Editorial
Info
Ruta de la amistad
Photography by Karla Ximena Cerón
Writen by Matías Tina
80 pages
4/4
14 × 43 cm (5.5 × 17 in)
Staple Bound
First edition October 2024
Edition of 200
Decolonizing Non-Violent Communication
Written by meenachi
Edited by Nicole Kelly
Illustrations by Hana Ward
92 pages
2/2
14 × 21.6 cm (5.5 × 8.5 in)
Spiral Bound
First edition, March 2019
200 copies
Second edition, June 2019
500 copies
Third edition, December 2019
700 copies
Fourth edition, March 2020
1,750 copies
Fórmulas Colaborativas
Written by Cocina Colaboratorio
Edited by Lucía Pérez-Volkow, Elizabeth Guerrero Molina and Tanya M. González Martínez
Illustrations by Jesper Buursink and
Moriz Oberberger
124 pages
1/1 and 4/4
14 × 21.6 cm (5.5 × 8.5 in)
Spiral Bound
First edition, October 2025
200 copies
Second edition, March 2026
400 copies
Tamarind
Adee Roberson, with texts by Essence Harden, Treva Ellison, and Adee Roberson
Edited by Sarah Williams
40 pages
4/4
14 × 21.6 cm (5.5 × 8.5 in)
Saddle-stitched
First edition, May 2019
200 copies
Tales from Santo Domingo
Independant project on speculative identity formed by a series of 10 letter pressed business cards made in Santo Domingo, CDMX each representing a fictional object such as a fountain, a church, or a brick.
Series of 10 business cards
9 × 5 cm (3.5 × 2 in)
Unbound
First edition, August 2017
Unique Object
Espectadora específica
Text by Tonatiuh López
84 pages
7/7
12 × 19 cm (4.72 × 7.48 in)
Saddle-stitched
First edition, May 2025
200 copies
Interlace
Written by Charles Moore
72 pages
2/2
13.5 × 21 cm (5.3 × 8.2 in)
Staple Bound
First edition, September 2025
300 copies
Tenderness
Written by Annika Hasteen-Izora
72 pages
4/4
12 × 19 cm (4.72 × 7.48 in)
Spiral Bound
First edition, November 2021
750 copies
Art
Info
Higher Power (My Reflection)
Acrylic paint, gouache, and oil pastel on canvas
96 × 116 cm (37.8 × 45.7 in)
Signed verso
Exhibited at mooni
Higher Power is a series that celebrates the beauty and meaning found in everyday life. Through familiar objects—chairs, fruit, flowers, candles, books, and cheese—MJ Balvanera transforms the cotidiano into something both intimate and sublime. Drawn from her home, these objects carry personal significance, reflecting her background in editorial design, her connection to a higher power, and her family history.
In My Reflection, the bathroom becomes a site of tension and tenderness. A Dyson dryer rests near the water's edge—beauty ritual at the threshold of danger. A vase holds water in careful containment while the tub overflows with emotion. Around them: an accumulation of beauty products, most of them unused and barely understood, monuments to aspiration and overwhelm. Tulips, red and unruly, stand for her mother. The aesthetic seduction is real, as it always is in Balvanera's work—but so is the fear. Sobriety and fragility, held together in one still life.
Higher Power (My Books)
Acrylic paint, gouache, and oil pastel on canvas
70 × 90 cm (27.6 × 35.4 in)
Signed verso
Exhibited at mooni
Higher Power is a series that celebrates the beauty and meaning found in everyday life. Through familiar objects—chairs, fruit, flowers, candles, books, and cheese—MJ Balvanera transforms the cotidiano into something both intimate and sublime. Drawn from her home, these objects carry personal significance, reflecting her background in editorial design, her connection to a higher power, and her family history.
My Books is a portrait of a life in print. Each spine on the shelf—rendered with the flat, pattern-loving eye of Jonas Wood—carries the weight of a professional history and an emotional one. Zolo Press, Mariposa, Made in L.A., Axis: these are not decorations but markers, proof of a career built around books as objects, books as relationships. The cobalt dresser anchors the composition; the plant spills freely at the edge. A quiet still life about the labor of loving what you do.
Higher Power III
Acrylic paint, gouache, and oil pastel on canvas
70 × 100 cm (27.6 × 39.4 in)
Signed verso
Exhibited at Synonym Gallery
Higher Power is a series that celebrates the beauty and meaning found in everyday life. Through familiar objects—chairs, fruit, flowers, candles, books, and cheese—MJ Balvanera transforms the cotidiano into something both intimate and sublime. Drawn from her home, these objects carry personal significance, reflecting her background in editorial design, her connection to a higher power, and her family history.
Higher Power II
Acrylic paint on canvas
70 × 100 cm (27.6 × 39.4 in)
Signed verso
Exhibited at mooni
Higher Power is a series that celebrates the beauty and meaning found in everyday life. Through familiar objects—chairs, fruit, flowers, candles, books, and cheese—MJ Balvanera transforms the cotidiano into something both intimate and sublime. Drawn from her home, these objects carry personal significance, reflecting her background in editorial design, her connection to a higher power, and her family history.
Higher Power I
Acrylic paint on canvas
70 × 100 cm (27.6 × 39.4 in)
Signed verso
Exhibited at mooni
Higher Power is a series that celebrates the beauty and meaning found in everyday life. Through familiar objects—chairs, fruit, flowers, candles, books, and cheese—MJ Balvanera transforms the cotidiano into something both intimate and sublime. Drawn from her home, these objects carry personal significance, reflecting her background in editorial design, her connection to a higher power, and her family history.
Mesa Rancho
Inspired by tables and benches found in El Pueblo de Los Angeles, California, the Rancho Table is a functional and aesthic object that can be used for dining or as an oversized work table. The finishing is a high varnish paint over CNC cut plywood base.
Designed in collaboration with Jonathan Maghen.
Monobloc
Pine Chair
This take no the monobloc chair is an homage to artisan carpentars. Carved by maestro carpintero Jose Guadalupe, this chair is one of a kinda.
Martina Table
Named after my paternal grandmother, Martina is inspired by the rich colors and vibrant shapes of Mexican culture. This table is made of four thick wood cylinders, each a different hue, which hold the weight of the table cover. The finishing is a high varnish paint over CNC cut plywood base .
Concepción
Table
Named after my maternal grandmother, Concepción is inspired by the vibrant colors of flowers in Mexican landscapes. The finishing is a high varnish paint over CNC cut plywood base .