Illustrator Cesar Canseco’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Art Commission

The work of Mexico City–based illustrator Cesar Canseco blends the human figure with electric fields of color, channeling the legacy of 20th century Mexican muralism into a contemporary visual vocabulary. When Visa invited him to contribute to its new global art collection—The Art of the Draw—celebrating the FIFA World Cup 2026, Canseco approached the commission with a clarity that mirrors the intensity of the sport itself.

“The first thing that came to my mind was the energetic passion you find in every soccer fan in Mexico,” he shares with Surface. “We leave our souls in the stadium. We scream, we cry, we are loud.” That raw emotion became the entry point for his piece and guided its direction from the earliest sketches to the final composition.

The invitation to represent Mexico on an international stage shifted pressure into purpose. “At first I was nervous about the size of the audience,” he says. “But the opportunity to celebrate Mexico in art and in sports created this urge in me. I wanted something that makes us put our heads up proud and lets the adversary know we came with everything we have.”

This instinct to combine introspection with communal energy defines Canseco’s practice. He recognizes artists not only as image makers but as contributors to cultural and economic ecosystems. “Entrepreneurship begins with the fear of risk,” he says. “If you stay focused and informed and you study your industry and where you come from, you can move forward. I am also learning how essential community is. You cannot work alone. Collaboration and mutual support help us develop collectively.”

The influence of Mexican muralism underscores this belief. It is not only a reference point but a framework for thinking about the public impact of art. “I have been thinking a lot about the social impact of our work,” he says. “We are not saving lives the way a doctor would, but image making communicates a lot. The more I study Mexican muralism, the more convinced I am that art can elevate our morale, our happiness, our souls, and our culture. This celebration lets us reincorporate unity and elevate ourselves as humans rather than as borders.”

Soccer as a narrative lens yields fleeting fragments that contribute to emotional arcs. Canseco gravitated to the split second before motion erupts. “The focus, the moving forward nonstop, the previous second before a sprint or a goal,” he says. That suspended moment became the foundation for his visual language, a symbolic pause that holds the weight of collective anticipation.

Support from Visa shaped the experience in ways that went beyond logistics. “Confidence was the greatest support,” he says. “They trusted my work. They let me say what I wanted to say in my compositions. Because of that, we landed in the greatest thing we could make together.” The result is a piece that feels at once intimate and expansive. It honors Mexico while joining a global artistic chorus built to celebrate creativity, connection and the shared momentum of the FIFA World Cup 2026.