You might consider Enrique Chagoya a jack of all trades--or at least, a jack with a whole lot of degrees.

Chagoya grew up in Mexico, where his father had a job with the department of criminology at the Central Bank. As a kid, Chagoya would sometimes visit his office, which was filled with examples of counterfeit currency and the etching plates used to make them. Chagoya’s fascination with these tiny, forged prints and plates foreshadowed a future both in economics and in the arts.

Chagoya chose to first pursue economics. After wrapping up at UNAM (one of Mexico’s premier universities), he looked to the US for a second degree. He thought better of continuing econ graduate studies in the United States, claiming “I looked into the department at the University of California, Berkeley, but I knew more about economic theory than most of the graduate students.” #Burn. In the end, he pursued a BFA at San Francisco Art Institute. Next would come an MA and MFA from UC Berkeley, and later Chagoya would become a faculty member at Stanford. I guess the beautiful Bay Area is as good a place as any to call home (I'm not biased…)

Joan Brown was a mentor to Chagoya when he was studying art at UC Berkeley, where she taught for many years. As you might already know, she was sort of new-agey, and they bonded over a shared interest in Pre-Colombian mythology.

For three years Chagoya taught art at the San Francisco County Jail, where he would have to bring his own supplies (like pencils) upon coming and going so that they wouldn’t be nabbed for weapons. “Art from Jail” was the first show Chagoya curated. It showcased artwork by his imprisoned students, whom he even convinced the sheriff to allow to attend the opening.

Chagoya’s work is decidedly political, but you might find it funny, too. His academic background in economy and politics informs quite a lot of what he paints and draws. And, since he’s inspired by a tradition of political caricature, you can spot fictional icons like Mickey Mouse, Lewis Carroll’s Alice, and Dopey the Dwarf appearing alongside parodied political figures like George W. Bush and David Duke. All this amidst technical formality that could rival Goya (there’s even a Chagoya series that riffs on The Disasters of War).