about Fabio Esteban

Originally from El Salvador, Fabio Esteban Amador is an archaeologist, photographer and visual artist based between Southern France and New York City. He studied at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York City before earning his M.A. and Ph.D. in Mesoamerican archaeology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

For his doctoral research, he excavated ancient Maya sites across the Yucatán Peninsula to investigate how identity is constructed through art and iconography. His fieldwork has since expanded to Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Southwest United States and most recently, the Franco-Cantabrian region of Europe, where he has devoted himself to exploring and documenting Paleolithic cave art. The caves have profoundly shaped his understanding of how visual language was used as storytelling within sacred spaces. This research directly inspires his current painting series, The Body as Cave, in which he visualizes the symbolic human body as a sacred cave — an archive of memory, origin and ritual.

Fabio Esteban Amador Painting with photographic imagery and acrylic paint on watercolor paper
Fabio Esteban Amador Painting with photographic imagery and acrylic paint on watercolor paper

In addition to his archaeological research, Fabio Esteban is a founding member of Foundation OLAS, dedicated to capacity building in the systematic documentation of submerged archaeological sites. He previously served as Program and Science Officer for the National Geographic Society and as host of the National Geographic television series Mysteries of the Underworld. In his visual practice, he bridges art and science, imaging and exploration, creating multimedia works that examine culture, identity and memory. These themes recur across his installations, paintings, photography and visual narratives. His work has appeared in National Geographic Magazine, iWatch and Tres Tiempos Magazine, at the National Geographic Museum, the National Museum of Anthropology Dr. David J. Guzmán in San Salvador, the Museum of the City of New York, in National Geographic's Explorer's Journal and in numerous public and private gallery exhibitions.

Fabio Esteban's engagement with fine arts began early. He studied dat the School of Visual Arts in New York City and took studio classes at the Art Students League of New York, where he worked with influential teachers including Richard Pousette-Dart, the youngest member of the historic Abstract Expressionist movement. His early work was dynamic, spanning sculpture, life drawing and painting. During this period he discovered the immediacy of ink and paper, beginning a series of evolving sketchbooks that continues to this day.

EXHIBITIONS AND INSTALLATIONS

  • Saint Genies Residence Artistique: June - August 2026,

  • Hoboken Art Studio Tour, Solo Exhibition “MiAmerica”, April 2025

  • ESKFF Studio at Mana Contemporary, Group Exhibit: Yigal Oseri Challenge Fundraiser, March 2025

  • Gallery QI, UCSD California, Solo Exhibition “Lienzo de Piedra / Canvas in Stone’. April 2024

  • Hoboken Art Studio Tour, Solo Installation “Desert Flight”, Hoboken N.J. November 2023.

  • Latino Culture Art Exhibit, Secaucus Library, Secaucus N.J. October 2023.

  • Hispanic Heritage Art Exhibit, Paterson City Hall, Paterson N.J. October 2023.

  • PAX - Paterson Art Exchange outdoor exhibit. Paterson N.J. July 2023.

  • We + They = US group art exhibit at Gallery Space, Rahway N.J. June 2023.

  • Northern Soul, 1202 1st street, Hoboken N.J. Group Art Exhibition Summer 2023.

  • ESKFF Winter Residency Exhibit at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City N.J. March 2023.

  • Hoboken Open Studio Art Tour, Solo Art Installation, Hoboken N.J. March 2023.

  • ESKFF Alumni Exhibit at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City N.J. July 2022.

  • Northern Soul, 1202 1st street. Hoboken NJ. Group Art Exhibition from Nov. to December 2021.

  • Pilsner Haus and Biergarten 1422 Grand Street Hoboken. Solo Art exhibit of New Rome series: March 4th to May, 2021.

  • Hope/Ezperanza mural exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York. New York Responds curated exhibit featuring street art in SoHo during summer 2020. Dec. 2020 to April 2021.

  • Art Student League Concourse Gallery Exhibit. Winiarsky Class show. January 2020.

  • MannMadeMexico Gallery in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Solo Art show, April 2019.

  • Hank’s Bar solo photography exhibit. Petworth, Washington DC, January 2018.   

  • Anthropology Museum of San Salvador, David J. Guzman. Photographic Installation of digital imagery of Ancient Cave Paintings at Corinto Prehistoric Cave, San Salvador, November 2017.

  • Gigapan Imagery of Complex Mural installation at the National Geographic Museum. Ancient Civilizations of Peru Exhibit.Washington DC, June 2016.