Southern identity
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Who do you think you are? That's the question answered by 25 artists in MasCARAS: Self-Portraits at the Raices/Taller gallery. Mostly from Southern Arizona, the artists reveal a deep influence from Native American and Chicano imagery and incorporate these images into their mixed-media works in unique ways.
One piece by Gonzalo Espinosa paints a man's body over a fabric rendition of an Aztec wheel design, reminiscent of delicate lace. Christina Cardenas and Claudio Dicochea use the "Sacred Heart" as a central image of self-identity in their works. Alfred Quiroz's "Woven by Natives" is an innovative approach to the self-portrait, with his face evolving in the work of a woman's weaving loom.
"Millennium - Mayan Artifact" by Roberto Delgado is a curious hybrid of cultural heritage and modern society. A roughly sculpted face is surrounded by remnants of technology in broken CDs, computer circuit panels and keyboard keys, all posing the question: What will last longer?
Technology appears in Vicente Bracho's "Rochas de Alma," though in a more constructive manner. Giving a millennial twist to the self-portrait, he appears as a distorted shape in a digital computer composite.
The collection emphasizes the diversity of these artists and their styles. Some offer realistic visual self-reflections, while others work in an abstracted or symbolic manner.
MasCARAS is showing at the Raices/Taller gallery, located at 222 E. 6th St. Gallery, is showing Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
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