A myriad of Chicano art is on display at an East Dallas art gallery located in what once was a restaurant and pool hall.
From art representing childhood memories to art depicting low rider culture to the trauma of immigration enforcement, the exhibition “Chicano” at Art on Main encompasses the 2D and 3D work of over 50 North Texas artists.
Co-curators Ariel Esquivel and Junanne Peck, both artists themselves, were inspired by the strong Mexican American history and roots in East Dallas -- and wanted to bring together North Texas artists who have works of art representing the Chicano diaspora.
“I feel like ...we've all still been here but most of us are like with our families working, working on community and different things,” Esquivel said. “So I felt like it was something that I wasn't really seeing and I wanted to bring that to the table to celebrate the culture and the history here in East Dallas.”
One of Esquivel’s point print artworks is of the patron saint of the Americas, the Virgin of Guadalupe, titled “Mother of the Stars.”
“I remember being 16 years old and pregnant with my first child going to the shrine with my partner through all these years,” Esquivel said. “I've always returned to pray there at that very spot I held close to my heart. This work is a reminder to lead with love, to be the light, to be kind, and ask ourselves, ‘what would the mother do?’"
Art on Main gallery owner Andrea Lamarsaude worked with Peck and Esquivel on an exhibition last year called “Shelter" and said it was just a natural fit to have the Chicano exhibit at her space.
Among her favorite pieces in the exhibition is a painting called “Cultura” by Cease Martinez. It depicts three Chicana women in a car with their backs turned. This piece and the other works in the exhibition have been well received by the community, Lamarsaude said.
“My hope is they realize how many extremely talented artists we have in Dallas, the range of talent and the range of mediums,” Lamarsaude said.
Multidisciplinary artist Hermila Cuevas’ oil on canvas work, “Chicomecōātl: Giver of Harvest,” represents the Aztec corn goddess — but not the way she’s typically depicted.
“This an interpretation of what I would want to bring into the contemporary world as if she was still alive and not erased like the way most of our cultural history has been erased from our Indigenous identity,” Cuevas said. “This is something that I want to bring to the community to be able to realize how rich our culture is in color, in history, and in culture and how we are together.”
Mixed media collage artist Erica Sutherland, who said she is not Chicana but grew up around Chicano culture, said she loved the diversity of the different bodies of work in the exhibition.
Her own piece, “Souvenir El Recuerdo,” is rooted in childhood memories of going to the beach with her mother during the summer.
"There are pieces that, you know, deal with trauma, that deal with separation, that deal with deportation, that deal with nostalgia, that deal with celebration and memory,” Sutherland said. “It's the full range of what I think being Chicano and Chicana is.”
For Esquivel, the exhibition has been about rediscovering her identity and having community come together, Chicano or not.
“It means so much to me because it's about unity, coming together, being the change that you want, having partnerships with your community, knowing your neighbors and being what you want to see,” Esquivel said. “If you want to see it, don't talk about it, don't complain, get out there, find your purpose.”
The exhibition runs until May 2.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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