Julio César Morales (b. 1966) is a multidisciplinary artist and curator whose work explores migration, labor, surveillance, identity and the lived experience of the U.S.–Mexico border. Raised between Tijuana and San Diego, Morales draws on personal and family histories as well as found images and objects to examine the social and political forces shaping movement across borders. Working in video, photography, watercolor, sculpture, installation and printmaking, he often approaches difficult subjects indirectly, using understated imagery to reveal the risks and complexities of migration. Morales earned his B.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute. His work has been exhibited internationally at the Lyon, Istanbul and Singapore biennials; San Francisco Museum of Moder Art; Pérez Art Museum Miami; Museo Tamayo; El Museo del Barrio; and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, among others. In 2025, the Manetti Shrem Museum presented "OJO" Julio César Morales, a major midcareer survey bringing together more than 50 new and recent works. The exhibition marked Morales’ return to California and to full-time studio practice following more than a decade as a curator and museum director in Arizona.