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Exhibitions

Memoria Presente: :  An Artistic Journey

March 25 – August 13, 2017
Memoria Presente Cover Photo
Salvador Jiménez-Flores, La resistencia de los nopales híbridos, 2017, terracotta, porcelain, underglaze and mixed media.

There is no better way to celebrate our 30th anniversary year than to present an exhibition of exceptional artists currently working in Chicago and vicinity. Since opening its doors in 1987, the Museum has showcased 220 exhibitions that exemplify a broad spectrum of artistic expressions from both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. The contemporary artists now creating artwork across our Midwest city continue to accurately reflect the vibrance and diversity found within the Chicago-Mexican community. Their poetic and political expressions carry on an extensive history of contemplative work and civic dialog in North America. The Museum’s philosophy of a Mexican culture “sin fronteras” (without borders) promotes art as a bridge between communities, while art education expands minds and breaks down barriers, even as it preserves cultural heritage.

Participating Artists

Alberto Aguilar, Sergio Gomez, Elsa Muñoz, Miguel ‘Kane One’ Aguilar, Mario ‘Zore’ Gonzalez Jr., Christopher Preissing, Alfonso ‘Piloto’ Nieves, René Hugo Arceo, Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Errol Ortiz, Juan Angel Chavez, Sam Kirk, Dan Ramirez, Javier Chavira, Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, Marcos Raya, Héctor Duarte, Ivan Lozano, Luis Romero, William Estrada, Jorge Lucero, Luis A. Sahagun, Roberto Ferreyra, Nicole Marroquin, CHema Skandal!, Eric Garcia, Victoria Martinez, Georgina Valverde, Maria Gaspar, Yvette Mayorga, and Gabriel Villa

Curator

Dolores Mercado, Cesáreo Moreno, and Ricardo X. Serment

Organizing Institution

National Museum of Mexican Art

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.

Content Warning:

Violence. Gore. Trauma. Some images of the artwork in the gallery aren't suited for all audiences. Viewer discretion advised.

Exhibition Highlights

  • Four art pieces on the gallery walls: An abstract sprayed paint and multimedia Cold steep pieces.
    1 / 10Gallery view.
  • Two art pieces: left side zigzag paint stroke swirling in square direction; right side, a collections of acrylics on paper in abstract geometric forms
    2 / 10Visible (L-R): Alberto Aguilar, Portal, 2017, leftover latex paint on wall; Collection of acrylics on paper by Luis Romero.
  • A collection of six multi-colored abstract pattern acrylic works.
    3 / 10Collection of acrylics on paper by Luis Romero.
  • A gallery overview shot.
    4 / 10(Visible L-R): Collection of acrylics on paper by Luis Romero; Jorge Lucero, Papeles y Documentos; Background: Eric J. Garcia, Pillars of the Community, 2017, slipcast porcelain.
  • A gallery overview shot.
    5 / 10(Visible L-R): Sam Kirk, La verdad es... ; Errol Ortiz, Serenely Absorbing Passionless Violence; Sergio Gomez, La Reflection en el camino; Eric J. Garcia, Pillars of the Community.
  • Three artworks displayed in the gallery.
    6 / 10(Visible L-R): Eric J. Garcia, Pillars of the Community, slipcast porcelain; Miguel ‘Kane One’ Aguilar, Un rinconcito en el cielo, spray paint; Dan Ramirez, Aletheia II-W, oil, iron oxide and acrylic.
  • An acrylic painting on birchwood. Painting depicts a symmetrical shape in the center; reminiscent of space.
    7 / 10Dan Ramirez, Aletheia II-W, 2016, oil, iron oxide and acrylic on birch.
  • Three artworks on display: man laying flat from the top facing downward, a mixed media pillar, oil painting of a cave opening with light shining through.
    8 / 10(Visible L-R): Javier Chavira, In Limbo, 2017, oil over tempera; Georgina Valverde, Temazcal, 2017, mixed media; Elsa Muñoz, The Cave and the Idea of Progress, 2017, oil and wax.
  • Gallery overview shot.
    9 / 10(Visible L-R): Elsa Muñoz, The Cave and the Idea of Progress; Georgina Valverde, Temazcal; Errol Ortiz, Serenely Absorbing Passionless Violence; Sergio Gomez, La Reflection en el camino.
  • Close detail shot of artwork, women in the center with two men behind her
    10 / 10Errol Ortiz, Serenely Absorbing Passionless Violence, 2015, acrylic on linen.

Exhibition Highlights

  • installation of artwork in the corner, sculpture depicts cacti with human heads and parts coming out of the cactus pieces.
    1 / 10Salvador Jiménez-Flores, La resistencia de los nopales híbridos, 2017, terra cotta, porcelain, underglaze and mixed media.
  • two art pieces displayed; a buffalo made out of bunches of hair, a installation of chains made out of tape and photography depicting. content warning: gore. mutilated bodies due to the cartel.
    2 / 10Visible (L-R): Juan Angel Chávez, Buffalo Sade, 2014, Mixed Media; Ivan LOZANO, Suffocated from the Inside (Party Chain) v2, 2015-16, packing tape, ink, and hardware.
  • Content Warning: Violence, gore. a visually graphic piece close up of the photos of severed limbs and mutilated bodies due to the cartel.
    3 / 10Close up: Ivan LOZANO, Suffocated from the Inside (Party Chain) v2 , 2015-16, packing tape, ink, and hardware.
  • close up of the buffalo sculpture artwork with other pieces hanging in the background
    4 / 10Visible (L-R): Juan Angel Chávez, Buffalo Sade, 2014, Mixed Media; Sam Kirk, La verdad es... , 2016, mixed media on MDF board; Sam Kirk, A Beautiful Struggle, 2017, acrylic on #100 French Paper.
  • Sam Kirk artwork, left to right: A brown skin-toned women with an outline of a man panel overlay, two woman together, and two women kissing surrounded by various sound bubbles from on-lookers.
    5 / 10Visible, Sam Kirk Artwork (L-R): Trans-ition, 2017, mixed media on paper and layered glass; La verdad es... , 2016, mixed media on MDF board; A Beautiful Struggle, 2017, acrylic on #100 French Paper.
  • close up shot; a brown skin-toned woman ith an outline of a man panel overlay, referencing the transgender experience
    6 / 10Sam Kirk, Trans-ition (Trans-ición), 2017, mixed media on paper and layered glass.
  • Gallery overview shot.
    7 / 10Mixed Media artwork Visible (L-R): Alfonso ‘Piloto’ Nieves, En nombre del progreso, 2017; Salvador Jiménez-Flores, La resistencia de los nopales híbridos, 2017; Juan Angel Chávez, Buffalo Sade, 2014.
  • Two art pieces: an installation and a huge acrylic painting
    8 / 10Visible (L-R): Yvette Mayorga, Make America Sweet Again, 2017, mixed media installation and video; Marcos Raya, The Emperor of Disorder, 2014, acrylic on canvas.
  • close up shot: an installation depicting sweet treats behind a fence, the back wall is a barb wire fence with american flags on top.
    9 / 10Yvette Mayorga, Make America Sweet Again (Haz América dulce otra vez) 2017, mixed media installation and video.
  • Gallery overview shot
    10 / 10Visible (L-R): Rene Arceo, In Honor of Jose Guerrero, linocut; Rene Arceo, Return to Aztlán – Posada, linocut; Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Tortilla Social, wood; William Estrada, untitled, mixed media.

Exhibition Highlights

  • Gallery overview shot.
    1 / 10Visible (L-R): Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Tortilla Social, 2016, wood; William Estrada, untitled, 2017, mixed media; Nicole Marroquin, 4 silkscreen prints, 2017; Gabriel Villa, Loupe, 2016, mixed media.
  • Two installations: a collection of mixed media on paper and a corner installation of prints on 4 large hanging pellon sheets.
    2 / 10Gabriel Villa, Loupe, 2016, mixed media; Roberto Ferreyra, Vivos los queremos (We Want Them Back Alive) 2017, xylographs on pellon.
  • Two artworks: acrylic painting depicting a warrior holding his love, a painting of the virgin mary in the shape of a piece of corn.
    3 / 10Chema Skandal!, Love es amor, 2017, acrylic paint; Hector Duarte, The Damn Lady of Monsanto Sexually Harassing the Virgin of Corn, 2017, paint over woodcut.
  • 4 / 10(L-R): Victoria Martinez, To Fly to the Moon with You, 2017, Screen print and paint on felt; Luis Sahagun Nuño, A Forgotten Landscape (New Mexico), 2016, silicone caulk, spray paint on wood panel.
  • a moving installation hangs from the ceiling, of four people with their arms spread wide, each with a few strands of ribbon from their heads
    5 / 10Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, Papantla, tus hijos vuelan, 2017, polyurethane foam, acrylic enamel, metal and engine.
  • The installation hangs from the ceiling, currently stationary, four people with their arms spread wide, each with a few strands of ribbon from their heads
    6 / 10Rodrigo Lara Zendejas, Papantla, tus hijos vuelan, 2017, polyurethane foam, acrylic enamel, metal and engine.
  • 7 / 10Visible (L-R): Luis Sahagun Nuño, The Lonely Moon Rides High, osb wood, installation; Maria Gaspar, collection of Extreme Landscapes Series; Google study of Cook County Jail in Chicago, inkjet print.
  • shot of the museum exit, showcasing the installation above the exit.
    8 / 10Alberto Aguilar, Exito, 2017, sign paint on Day-glo paper, streamers and artist tape.
  • shot of the front of the museum; the art pieces sit at the top of the entrances and is seeable through the glass.
    9 / 10Alberto Aguilar, Entre, 2017, sign paint on butcher paper.
  • The artwork is in three separate pieces that are displayed in three separate windows.
    10 / 10Alberto Aguilar, Entre, 2017, sign paint on butcher paper.

Exhibition Announcement

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