Cara a Cara/Face to Face: Chicano Portraits from the Gilberto Cárdenas and Dolores Garcia Collection
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - Sunday, September 10, 2023
Beginning in the 1960s, many Mexican American artists supported the Chicano movement for civil rights. They adopted the name of Chicana or Chicano to signify the political and social concern of their work on behalf of their communities. "Cara a cara / Face to Face" presents a selection of Chicano artists who have chosen portraiture as a form of personal, cultural, or political affirmation. Working in a variety of media, ranging from traditional printmaking to digital photography, these artists deal with issues of social justice as they depict people from all walks of life. Their portraits celebrate the resilience, the perseverance, and the stories of individuals belonging to Mexican American communities across the United States. Our visitors are invited to meet them, face to face, in the galleries.
"Cara a cara / Face to Face" is the first presentation in the Blanton’s Latino art galleries, which celebrate the Gilberto and Dolores Cárdenas Collection, one of most important collections of Chicano and Latino art in the world.
Curated by Vanessa Davidson, Curator, Latin American Art, Blanton Museum of Art, and Florencia Bazzano, Assistant Curator, Latin American Art, Blanton Museum of Art
Gallery Text"Cara a cara / Face to Face" is the first presentation in the Blanton’s Latino art galleries, which celebrate the Gilberto and Dolores Cárdenas Collection, one of most important collections of Chicano and Latino art in the world.
Curated by Vanessa Davidson, Curator, Latin American Art, Blanton Museum of Art, and Florencia Bazzano, Assistant Curator, Latin American Art, Blanton Museum of Art
Cara a cara / Face to Face: Chicano Portraits from the Gilberto and Dolores Cárdenas Collection
Dedicated to the display of Latino Art, these galleries celebrate the Blanton’s transformative acquisition of the Gilberto and Dolores Cárdenas Collection, one of the most important private collections of Chicano and Latino art in the world. The groundbreaking artworks included here expand our understanding of the art of the United States, as well as its complex connections to the cultures of Latin America. In building this landmark collection over six decades, Dr. Cárdenas affirmed that his overarching mission has been for all to recognize “Latinos as a central foundational component of American culture and society, past and present.”
In this gallery, Cara a cara / Face to Face highlights a selection of works by Chicana and Chicano artists who have chosen the portrait as a visual platform to engage issues of social justice. They have worked innovatively in a variety media, including traditional printmaking, conceptual art, and digital photography. Their narratives have also differed, ranging from the politically provocative images shaped by the Chicano movement for civil rights, to the use of humor and ambiguity in more recent examples. In all, they critically address the plight of immigrants and workers, pervasive racial prejudices, and narrow notions of what it means to be “American.” In affirming the role that Chicano artists have historically had as political and social activists since the 1970s, these portraits invite the viewer to celebrate, cara a cara, face to face, the strength and resilience of Mexican-American communities across the United States.
Cara a cara / Face to Face: Retratos Chicanos de la Colección de Gilberto y Dolores Cárdenas
Dedicadas a la exhibición de arte Latino en el museo Blanton, estas salas celebran la trascendente adquisición por parte del museo Blanton de la Colección Gilberto y Dolores Cárdenas, una de las colecciones privadas de arte chicano y latino más importantes del mundo. Las destacadas obras de arte aquí incluidas amplían tanto nuestra comprensión del arte de los Estados Unidos, como sus complejas conexiones con las culturas de América Latina. Al crear esta colección histórica a lo largo de seis décadas, el Dr. Cárdenas afirmó que su misión principal ha sido que todos reconocieran a "los latinos como un componente central fundamental de la cultura y la sociedad estadounidenses, pasadas y presentes".
En esta misma sala, Cara a cara / Face to Face presenta una selección de obras de artistas chicanas y chicanos quienes han elegido el retrato como una plataforma visual para abordar la justicia social. Ellos han trabajado de manera innovadora en una variedad de técnicas, incluyendo el grabado tradicional, el arte conceptual, y a la fotografía digital. Sus narrativas también se diferenciaron, yendo de las obras políticamente más provocativas en el marco del movimiento Chicano de derechos civiles, al uso del humor y la ambigüedad de los ejemplos más recientes. En conjunto, estos artistas abordan con criterio crítico la lucha de los inmigrantes y los obreros, los prejuicios raciales persistentes, y las nociones limitadas de lo que significa ser “americano”. Al afirmar el rol que han tenido los artistas chicanos como activistas sociales desde la década del setenta, estos retratos invitan al visitante a celebrar, cara a cara, face to face, la fortaleza y la resistencia de las comunidades mexicoamericanas a todo lo largo de los Estados Unidos.