Roberto Marquez was born in Mexico City and spent his later childhood in Guadalajara, where he graduated from a Jesuit university called Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente.
He later moved to the southwestern US state of Arizona and then to New York.
His paintings incorporate dreamlike images from literature and Mexican history. His work is known for its "literary allusions and visual metaphors" and for its frequent references to music.
Now his works can be found in Ukraine, where he traveled inspired by Pablo Picasso's Guernica, one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history, and following President Volodymyr Zelensky's appeals for international help.
Marquez spoke to Polish Radio's Paweł Kurek.
Click on the audio player above to listen.