Exhibitions

Día de Muertos :  Memories & Offerings

September 23 – December 11, 2022 Main Gallery
Carlos Frésquez, (detail) Ofrenda para mi abuela (Ofrenda for my Grandmother) - Lorencita Frésquez, 2001, mixed media. Courtesy of the artist

Our 36th Day of the Dead exhibition remembers the numerous individuals from Mexico and the U.S. who have died from COVID and other tragedies in the last year. The annual act of grieving has long been an essential aspect of the yearly celebration of life, as it offers a restorative way to acknowledge and accept the inevitable. Please join us to experience this age-old tradition of honoring the lives of lost loved ones. Folk art, fine art and photography make up the exhibition, bringing to life one of Mexico’s most cherished celebrations. Artists from both sides of the U.S./Mexico border express a sense of continuity and culture during this season of remembering.

Curated by Dolores Mercado & Cesáreo Moreno.

INSTALLATION/OFRENDAS
Norbella Aguilar Peña (Chicago), Carlos Flores (Chicago), Carlos Frésquez (CO), Antonio Martorell (PR), Maria Cristina Tavera & Xavier Tavera (MN)

Alejandro Cortés, Dolores Navarro & Jorge Negrete (Universidad de Guanajuato), Moos Elementary School CPS, ONORA Studio (CDMX), Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art (Chicago)

ARTISTS
Claudia Álvarez (CA), Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902-2002, CDMX), Mary J. Andrade (CA), Rick Blanco (IL), Valerie C. Burton (Toronto), Alex Carmona (IL), Martha Driessen (MN), Luis Fitch (MN), David Joaquín Gómez González and David Gómez Sánchez (Edo de México), ), José Gamaliel González (1933-2022, Chicago), David Linares (CDMX), Felipe Linares (CDMX), Paula Linares (CDMX), Pedro Linares (1902-1992, CDMX), Ricardo Linares (CDMX), Arlette Lucero (CO), Stevon Lucero (1949-2021, CO), Serapio Medrano Hernández (Jalisco), Alejandro Mondragón Arriaga (1950-2015, Edo de México), Delilah Montoya (NM), Reynaldo Olivares (CDMX), Zeke Peña (TX), Reyes Rodríguez (Tabasco), Eric Romero (NM), Héctor Silva (CA), Israel Soteno (Edo de Mexico), TSANDA (Michoacán), Cecilia Victoriano Cruz (Michoacán)

 

GALLERY VIEWS

All images below are a glimpse into the exhibition for those who could not attend in person. Photo credit: Michael Tropea.

Exhibition Highlights

  • Facing the entrance of the main gallery from the hallway with the entrance doors open.
    1 / 10BOOMZER, YUDA, Jorge Negrete, Lo que nos arrebataron (What Was Taken from Us), 2022, acrylic paint.
  • Two women dressed in all black mourning surrounded by yellow marigolds.
    2 / 10A detailed shot of the north wall section of the mural, Lo que nos arrebataron, by BOOMZER, YUDA, and Jorge Negrete.
  • A woman in all black in mourning with skeletons laying down in the background.
    3 / 10Detail shot of east wall section of the mural, Lo que nos arrebataron, by BOOMZER, YUDA, and Jorge Negrete.
  • A black room with magenta, purple, and black papeles picados hanging across the ceiling.
    4 / 10Claudia Álvarez, Día de los Inocentes (Holy Innocents Day), 2010, Ceramic.
  • The title of the exhibition on the black wall, “Dia de Muertos: Memories and offerings.”
    5 / 10Gallery view of 2022 Dia de Muertos Exhibition.
  • Gallery overview shot of the yellow and pink exhibit room.
    6 / 10Gallery overview.
  • A Detail shot of the artworks on display in the yellow and pink room exhibit.
    7 / 10Gallery overview of exhibition.
  • A Detail shot of the artworks on display in the yellow and pink room exhibit.
    8 / 10Visible (L-R): ONORA Studio, Ofrenda to the artisans that died of Covid, 2022; Mary J. Andrade, Ciudad de Mexico, 1990; Pedro Linares, Musico, 1991; Felipe Linares, Tehuana, 1990s.
  • Detail shot of the ofrenda by ONORA studio.
    9 / 10ONORA Studio, Ofrenda to the artisans that died of Covid, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • Two prints done by Martha Driessen hang on a blue wall.
    10 / 10Visible (L-R): ONORA Studio, Ofrenda to the artisans that died of Covid, 2022 Mixed Media; Martha Driessen, Niña en cuclillas, 2017, photo; Martha Driessen, Niña con ramo de flores, 2017, photo.

Exhibition Highlights

  • Framed photographs hang on the wall, one is Reyes Rodriguez’s piece Maricela, the other is a collection of 5 photographed Ofrendas from past museum exhibitions.
    1 / 10Visible (L-R): Reyes Rodriguez, Maricela, 2003, Photograph; Collection of photographed Ofrendas from past museum exhibitions dedicated to people killed in the United States by gun violence, 2022.
  • A gallery overview shot depicting the Ukrainian Memorial Altar and other artworks on display.
    2 / 10Gallery overview.
  • A detailed shot of the Memorial Ofrenda by the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.
    3 / 10Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, A Memorial Altar, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • Various Artworks being displayed in a blue gallery space.
    4 / 10Gallery Overview.
  • Gallery exhibits on display in a blue and turquoise room.
    5 / 10Gallery Overview.
  • A detailed shot of the Ofrenda dedicated to Robb Elementary School of Uvalde, Texas.
    6 / 10Moos Elementary School(Chicago Public School), Installation for Robb Elementary School, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • Various artwork pieces on display in a blue room.
    7 / 10Visible (L-R): Luis Fitch, El diente de oro de la carpeta el Día de los Fieles Difuntos, 2015; Luis Fitch, México lindo y qué herido de la carpeta el Día de los Fieles Difuntos, 2015.
  • A detail shot of an Ofrenda depicting artwork, image projections, and drawings reminiscent of old movie theater aesthetics.
    8 / 10Antonio Martorell, Puerto Rican Ofrenda to Mexican Cinema in black and white: from Santa to Roma, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • Various artwork pieces on display in a teal room.
    9 / 10Visible (L-R): Hector Silva, La vida no es como la pintan, 2003; Alex Carmona, La salida, 2021; Alex Carmona, La salida Woodblock, 2021; Alex Carmona, Vida Eterna, 2022; Rick Blanco, Esperanza, 2022.
  • A close up of the Ofrenda for Tomás Peña, a dedication to him and others that have passed due to suicide.
    10 / 10Norbella Aguillar Pena and family, Ofrenda for Tomás Peña, 2022, mixed media.

Exhibition Highlights

  • An overview shot of the artwork on display in the teal room.
    1 / 8Visible (L-R): Deliah Montoya, Campamento migrante Ironwood, AZ, 2004 (printed in 2008); Alejandro Cortés, Dolores Gómez Navarro and Jorge Negrete, La muerte allá donde la vida no vale nada, 2022.
  • Detail shot of the Ofrenda La muerte allá donde la vida no vale nada.
    2 / 8Alejandro Cortés, Dolores Gómez Navarro and Jorge Negrete, La muerte allá donde la vida no vale nada, 2022.
  • An overview shot of the artwork on display in the teal room.
    3 / 8Visible (L-R): Eric Romero, Año de los Muertos, 2020, oil on board; Eric Romero, Sana sana, 2020, oil on board; Carlos Flores, Ofrenda a los Arrancados, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • A close up shot of the Ofrenda, Ofrenda a los Arrancados; an Ofrenda dedicated to the working-class communities in Chicago.
    4 / 8Carlos Flores, Ofrenda a los Arrancados, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • An overview shot of the artwork on display in the teal room.
    5 / 8Visible (L-R): Maria Cristina Tavera and Xavier Tavera, Ofrenda to Nieves Orozco, 2022, Mixed Media; Zeke Peña, Chile con corazón, 2015, pastel on paper.
  • A detailed shot of the Ofrenda to Nieves Orozco.
    6 / 8Maria Cristina Tavera and Xavier Tavera, Ofrenda to Nieves Orozco, 2022, Mixed Media.
  • An overview shot of the artwork on display in the teal gallery space.
    7 / 8Visible (L-R): Carlos Frésquez, Ofrenda to my (a mi) abuela Lorencita Frésquez, 2001, Mixed Media; Eric Romero, Año de los Muertos, 2020, oil on board; Eric Romero, Sana sana, 2020, oil on board.
  • A detailed shot of Ofrenda to my (a mi) abuela Lorencita Frésquez.
    8 / 8Carlos Frésquez, Ofrenda to my (a mi) abuela Lorencita Frésquez, 2001, Mixed Media.

Funded by: 

ComEd
The Chicago Park District
The Joyce Foundation
Prince Charitable Trusts
Illinois Arts Council Agency
US Bank
People’s Gas