K'ayum Ma'ax Garcia is a painter extraordinaire. He paints images from the traditional Lacandon stories his father used to tell. His work has been showcased in galleries throughout the world, and is represented by an art gallery in Mexico City.

K'ayum, whose name translates as "God of Song", is the third son of Chan K'in Viejo and his second wife, Koh Maria. He is in his fifties now but has been painting since he was a teenager. He received encouragement from the late Gertrude "Trudi" Blom, environmental activist, photographer, and wife of the late Frans Blom, the Danish archaeologist. K'ayum's first paintings still hang in Na Bolom, the Blom's converted mission cum research station located in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

In his early years K'ayum received no formal art training. His early works were landscapes of the forest and its denizens, painted in the Impressionistic style and reminiscent of Claude Monet. He attended his first art course in 2000, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, with a grant from the Chiapas government. Since then, he has produced numerous paintings for collectors throughout the world. He has exhibited his art in Spain, Mexico City, and New York. Many of his patrons commission his work for their offices and homes.

The six paintings below were commissioned by Suzanne Cook, who began collecting K’ayum’s work in the early 90s. They are organized by date, so you can see how his work has progressed from his early days to the present.

These paintings are copyrighted by K'ayum, so please be respectful of this and do not copy or reproduce them. If you would like to purchase his paintings or commission a piece, you may contact Suzanne Cook. Her address is located in the Contact page of this web site.

The recent paintings, "Creation" and "The Birth of the Gods," were commissioned by Suzanne for the first volume of the Lacandon Creation Story. Since there are over twenty chapters in this story, these two paintings will illustrate the first two chapters. These two chapters will constitute the first volume, with more to follow. The volumes are intended for the general reader, with separate English and Spanish versions. It is expected these will be available next year.

K'ayum's Gallery