Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) has announced the upcoming spring exhibition, LatinXAmerican, which will be on display from March 4 through June 11, 2022.

LatinXAmerican includes photographs, paintings, sculptures, textiles, videos and installations from nearly 30 Latinx artists. The exhibition explores the shifting and, at times, contradictory social, cultural, political and artistic identities between Latinx artists of different circumstances and generations.

The term "Latinx" is used here as a nonbinary, gender-inclusive alternative to Latino or Latina for people of Latin American heritage living primarily in the United States. It is important to note not every artist in the exhibition identifies as a Latinx artist. Some prefer national, racial and/or ethnic designations of identity.?Therefore, further exploration of the artists’ diverse backgrounds is encouraged.

LatinXAmerican is on loan from the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM) in Chicago. This exhibition reflects an initiative by DPAM to increase the visibility of Latinx artists and voices in museums, working toward equity and lasting transformation. Latinx communities account for over 18% of the US population. A 2018 study of 18 major U.S. art museums found only 2.8% of artists in their collections are Latinx people.

Lubeznik Center for the Arts aligns with DPAM’s initiative to increase the visibility of Latinx artists and is grateful to DPAM for loaning most of the pieces in the exhibition. Generous support for this exhibition and its related programming is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Participating artists include Alberto Aguilar, Tanya Aguiñiga, Candida Alvarez, Alfredo Antonio Martinez, Enrique Chagoya, Karen Dana Cohen, Nicolás de Jesús, Claudio Dicochea, Salvador Dominguez, Ester Hernandez, Benito Huerta, Alejandro Jimenez-Flores, Salvador Jimenez-Flores, Rodrigo Lara, Melissa Leandro, José Lerma, Nicole Marroquin, Marisa Moran Jahn, Vik Muniz, Errol Ortiz, Gala Porras-Kim, Edra Soto, Vincent Valdez, Derek Webster and Mario Ybarra Jr.

José Lerma uses common construction materials, prefabricated doors and household paint, to create excerpts of the few paintings by artists of Latin American descent on view in the American galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago, like in his painting, La Madrileñita (above). He asks us to contemplate who is considered an American artist within the American collection, while considering the often invisible economic and artistic contributions of immigrants in this country.

Known for his work with unconventional materials, Vik Muniz uses torn bits of paper from magazines and tabloids, refashioning them to mimic iconic images from art history, very much like José Lerma. The Lemon, after Manet (left) recreates Edouard Manet’s, Le citron (The Lemon). Muniz says, “When people look at my images, I don’t want them to see the things that are represented. I prefer that they see how one thing can represent another.” Muniz’s work stands in a complex relation to the so-called original, radicalizing the still life tradition by not only depicting everyday objects, but also using these objects as the material itself.

The words painted in Son So & So by Candida Alvarez (below) refer to the artist’s son. On the other hand, “son” also refers to “son cubano” a style of music and dance originating in Cuba, which Alvarez listened to growing up in Puerto Rico.”

Free, public events taking place during LatinXAmerican’s run include:

=     The Opening Reception takes place Friday, March 4 from 5-8 p.m. (Central).

=     The Curator Gallery Talk led by LCA Exhibition Director, Lora Fosberg, is on Saturday, March 12 at 11:30 a.m. (Central) and will include an American Sign Language interpreter.

=     Family Day will be held on Saturday, April 23 from 1-3 p.m. (Central) and includes a free tour, snacks and art making.

To see all events happening at LCA, visit LubeznikCenter.org/Events.

Free gallery tours are available for small groups and organizations. Bilingual tours in Spanish and English are also available.To schedule a docent-led tour, contact Janet Bloch at jbloch@lubeznikcenter.org. To schedule a children's tour, contact Nelsy Marcano at nmarcano@lubeznikcenter.org.

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