Beyond the Frame: Victor Escobedo

Originally from Los Angeles and now based in Denver, Victor Escobedo is an interdisciplinary artist working across ceramic masks, marionettes, installation, performance, and painting. Rooted in reimagined ancient iconography and influenced by Mayan heritage, mysticism, and shamanistic practices, his work weaves together intuition, ritual, and contemporary expression. Beyond the Frame celebrates Victor not just for what he creates, but for the expansive philosophy and freedom that shape his world.

How do outside influences and your many passions come together in your practice?

I’ve always been very intentional about learning new methods. My current practice is really an amalgamation of everything I’ve picked up over time, and finding a way for it all to live harmoniously. That ranges from cultivating hardscapes and bonsai, to building living bio-terrariums for staging my puppetry. I’ll take elements of wood carving and printmaking and integrate them into costumes for these small creatures.

How do you decide which medium best serves an idea?
Live performance is so moment-to-moment, especially compared to something like video. A mesmerizing photo online isn’t quite the same as being there in person. My work definitely has a photographic and cinematic quality that I try to achieve, but there’s still a barrier. When you’re able to really engage with it physically, that’s when it becomes something you feel rather than just see. That’s what I want to push and champion forward.

How do intuition and spontaneity shape your process?
If I’m having a deep conversation with someone over tea, I’ll alchemize that moment by reusing the tea bags in my practice—block printing on them and incorporating them into mask-making. The same goes for incense: I’ll reuse the packaging, or burn it as a symbol of an interaction that’s temporary. You’re taking something physical and watching it turn into smoke that eventually dissipates. It’s my way of trying to capture moments in time through feeling, by tapping into Source.