Curatorial Work
In This Body, I Persevere
September 8 - October 21, 2023
In This Body, I Persevere, brings together twelve artists from around the US who identify as BIPOC to showcase their cultural and racial experiences while living in America. These artists not only bring the experiences of living in a BIPOC body to light, but they demonstrate how one can persist and persevere despite the challenges facing them every day. The work featured in this exhibition displays diverse processes, including printmaking, painting, sculpture, and performance-based work. Each artist embodies a unique perspective and concept regarding social paradigms, race, sexuality, cultural identity, or personal narratives. This exhibition testifies to the courage of the artists to explore and share their experiences while living in a world that consistently contradicts, exploits, and denies the lives and lived experiences of BIPOC people. Every artist continues working toward visual expression regardless of stereotypes, stigmas, and barriers.
Participating artists:
Summer Brooks, Mona Cliff, Dadisi Curtis Jr., Josie Del Castillo, Hiromi Iyoda, Matthew Kirk, Chandler Martin, Jada Patterson, Joey Quiñones, Mei Lam So, José Villalobos, and Pablo Villicana Lara
Photos by Mariah Seifert
El Agua Que Nos Carga
Performance piece by José Villalobos
In conjunction with In This Body, I Persevere
October 7, 2023
Recording of El Agua Que Nos Carga, José Villalobos, October 7, 2023
Water, a wellspring of existence, exhibits a dual nature- simultaneously serving as a life-giving force and being wielded as a tool of aggression when transformed into a barrier for migrants navigating the “border.” This work establishes a profound link to the ancestral journey of Villalobos’ family across this boundary, a voyage undertaken outside legal confines prominently embodied by his mother. The narratives she shared regarding the arduous passages through bodies of water and arid terrains encapsulate an intricate tapestry of heritage, shaping the very essence of the artist’s identity.
Artemio Rodriguez | Tradición y Modernidad En El Grabado
September 20 - October 19, 2019
As a printmaker who works primarily in black and white, Artemio Rodríguez’s signature style emphasizes simplicity and clarity. European medieval woodcuts and great Mexican print artists such as Jose Guadalupe Posada have been influential in Rodríguez’s printmaking career. In 2002, he founded La Mano Press, an artist-run center dedicated to promoting and appreciating printmaking in Los Angeles, California. This exhibition was in partnership with the Tonantzin Society, with Blanca Herrada as curator.
The Tonantzin Society and Artemio Rodriguez came into partnership by way of the Mulvane Art Museum and the Beach Museum. Rodriguez was part of the Beach Museum’s Fronteras exhibit in 2017, and the Tonantzin Society was intrigued by his printmaking work and the traveling Grafico Movil. At the same time, Rodriguez sought to raise money for his community-based Biblioteca del Libro Ilustrado (Library of Illustrated Books) located in Patzcuaro, Mexico. Proceeds from the exhibition wnt directly to the building of the Biblioteca del Libro Ilustrado.