This is the first comprehensive retrospective of photographer Laura Aguilar (1959-2018), as it assembles the largest collection of her work spanning three decades. In photographs that are frequently political as well as personal, Aguilar offers candid portrayals of herself, her friends and family, and her Chicana/Latina and LGBTQ communities. With her iconic 1990 triptych (Three Eagles Flying), Aguilar set the stage for her future work by using her nude body as an overt and courageous rebellion against the colonization of Chicana identities: racial, gendered, cultural, and sexual. Despite using the body to center her visual discourse, Aguilar never intended to speak for any specific political or feminist ideology. On the contrary, her practice intuitively evolved as she sought to negotiate and navigate her ethnic and sexual identity, her challenges with depression and auditory dyslexia, and the acceptance of her physique. This exhibition considers the story of the artist who for most of her life struggled to communicate with words, yet ironically emerged as a powerful voice for numerous and diverse marginalized groups.

Participating Artists

Laura Aguilar

Curator

Sybil Venegas

Organizing Institution

Vincent Price Art Museum in collaboration with the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

Displayed at

National Museum of Mexican Art, Main Gallery

Gallery Views

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

All artwork Ⓒ Laura Aguilar / Courtesy of the Laura Aguilar Trust 2016 and the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

Traveling exhibition venues

Vincent Price Art Museum (CA), The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum (FL)