THE GARZA SERIES DUENDES CEMETERY CAT’S CRADLE NUDE DESCENDING A STAIRCASE HOMUNCULUS MANZANAR KIMONO LOST IN HOLLYWOOD PAPER COWBOY

RECENT PORTRAITS INFRAMUNDO CANTINFLAS Y SUERTE

DUENDES

THE DUENDE LITHOGRAPHS

In 2021, the same image resurfaced as inspiration for five color photolitho edition prints and single image intervention with multimedia coloring at La Buena Impression printshop in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Small Duendes

(TLACOLULA)

Digital Prints

THE DUENDE PAINTINGS

CAT’S CRADLE

The collaborative installation "Cat’s Cradle” features a hanging by Porfirio Gutierrez, a master weaver from Oaxaca, Mexico and a scroll of portraits from Teoticlan de Valle. The multimedia installation was commissioned by MACO (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca) for the exhibition “Under the Cobalt Blue Sky” in which fifteen international fine artists partnered with indigenous artisans from the region of Oaxaca in December 2018.

The subject of the piece was an interaction between a group of dancers who yearly performed a ritual dance “La Danza de la Pluma” that commemorates the struggle between the conquering Spaniards and the indigenous population of Mexico. Strands of red wool emerge from the foreheads of each dancer’s portrait, connecting to the central eye of an adjacent wool tapestry, creating a symbolic bridge between both hanging artworks.

The floor space between the installation is strewn with earth, ashes, and pairs of the dancers’ worn sandals, accompanied by identifying labels of each name in Cyrillic alphabet, a choice of my collaborator in tribute to my ethnicity.

MANZANAR KIMONO

After visiting Manzanar National Park, formerly Manzanar War Relocation Camp, where many thousands of Japanese Americans were incarcerated during WWII, I felt compelled to make this monumental-scale kimono, dedicated to those who suffered relocation, loss and betrayal by the U.S. government. 

The front, back and sleeves of this memorial garment are imprinted with enlargements that I photographed while visiting the internment camp. 
The back of the kimono displays an image of the guard tower that still stands ominously on the grounds.  The front reveals pictures of rusting sleeping cots from the barracks interspersed with views of the Memorial monument.  Photographs of fragments of sculptural work by artist, Ruth Asawa, who was interned at Manzanar, appear on the sleeves.    

The fabric of the kimono is a thin polypropylene material commonly known as weed blocker.  The images were transferred to the garment through the use of photocopies coated with acrylic gel medium, then pressed against the fabric. Subsequently, the surface is highlighted with acrylic paint and charcoal then rubbed with earth and ashes to provide additional texture and depth. 

The enormous scale of the kimono (11’ x 6’) symbolizes the phenomenal endurance, creativity and tenacity of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans who were interned during WWII.

THE GARZA SERIES

José Garza is a civil servant that I met in a municipal pool about twenty years ago. I was struck by his austere demeanor which reminded me of the Spanish painter, Zurbarán. Soon after, I completed his portrait and later, our artistic relationship developed into formal standing nude portraits. Subsequently, he was the main subject matter of a series of monumental drawings that were recently compiled into a publication called Side Life. He continues to inspire my figurative work in the recent piece Nadie and an ongoing series of Garza Ghost mixed media works.

Lost in Hollywood (2016)
Acrylic, oil , crushed glass, print transfer on fiberglass mesh
84'' x 48''

PAPER COWBOY

The climate, terrain and history of Western United States profoundly affected me during my recent residency with Ucross Foundation in April 2011. Generally my work depicts the human body, but for this project I explore the trappings of a figure that has attained mythological stature in America - the cowboy. Here, drawings and fabrications of Western shirts and well-worn chaps represent the hardworking, lonesome nomad.

RECENT PORTRAITS

INFRAMUNDO

Inframundo (Or Underworld) was inspired by the prone Christ figure placed in a tomb-like glass enclosure that resides in the Tlacolula cathedral near Oaxaca, Mexico. I depicted the Christ in a realist style reminiscent of Francisco de Zurbarán and other Spanish colonial paintings. The figure writhes from an enclosure of vestments adorned with religious motifs. At the left of the painting the face of a Zapotec man with feline eyes alludes to the indigenous population of the region. Vestiges of Zapotec writing and chicken legs hang from above the painting.

Cantinflas y La Suerte was conceived in Mexico City approximately thirty years ago after witnessing a public tribute held at the Palacio de Bellas Artes after the passing of Mario Moreno, commonly known as Cantinflas. Cantinflas was an enormously popular actor featured in countless Mexican films over the course of half a decade. Referred to as the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico, he was a comic figure personifying the everyday tribulations of the common man.

The Cantinflas tapestry consists of twenty sheets of muslin imprinted with proceeds from the Lottería Nacional winning numbers and the iconic face of Cantinflas silkscreened in red. From each right eye emerges a chain tassel that trails to the floor strewn with glass crystals.

The Cantinflas tapestry was first shown in Mexico City in 1994 at the Centro Cultural San Angel. Subsequently, it was shown at CEARTE in Ensenada in 2017 as a memorial to the 25th anniversary of his death.

 Cantiflas y La Suerte has recently been acquired by MACO the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oaxaca, Mexico.