Artist Talks: 7:15 PM I Main Gallery
Art League Houston (ALH) is proud to present Piñatasthetic, an installation of work by Artists Justin Favela, based in Las Vegas, Nevada; Josué Ramírez, based in Brownsville, Texas; and Giovanni Valderas, based in Dallas, Texas. Selected by ALH’s Artist Advisory Board during the Open Call process, Piñatasthetic is a three-person exhibition exploring the use of the piñata technique and process as a symbol and cultural staple of Latinx identity.
The purpose and meaning of the piñata has developed from an indigenous practice to a tool of religious conversion and now to its current role in celebrations and parties. The lasting popularity of piñatas throughout time and their inclusion into mainstream popular culture as a signifier of Latinidad shows the importance behind the working-class craft. The incorporation of the piñata into pop culture, however, has led to appropriation that manifests itself in stereotypical ways, usually making piñatas part of the punch line. This diminishes the practice, tradition and worth of a craft that carries deep meaning and history in the Latinx collective conscious.
In an effort to create counter narratives to popular culture and to continue expanding the notion of the piñata through the lens of fine art, Piñatasthetic is a group show focusing on the contemporary use of piñata-making techniques, material and methodology. Piñatasthetic presents the ways in which three Latinx artists allude to, explore, portray, and develop the definition and construct of the piñata. The overt aesthetic of the piñata is what connects the exhibition, but the works are representations of the individual artists’ personal conversation on the topic.
Artist Justin Favela of Las Vegas is stylistically inspired by the piñata, which he uses to critique absurd stereotypes through exaggeration. Favela’s large-scale installations allude to wide-ranging inspirations from Mexican artist José María Velasco, low riders, and Selena, to food from his favorite hometown diners. Whatever the context, Favela’s work seeks to create a dialogue about identify and home, as well as the perceptions of “high art” with the use of craft materials.
Rio Grande Valley artist Josué Ramírez uses piñata techniques to recreate everyday snapshots of personal moments in bright, fringed collages. The images draw nostalgia for the ephemeral and are an ode to border life and culture through portraiture and piñata making. Ramirez also uses piñata techniques in immersive large-scale installations of psychedelic piñata landscapes. In Piñatabstract, Ramirez seeks to disconnect piñatas from symbolism and iconography and focus on the repetition of techniques to create momentary worlds.
Dallas-based artist Giovanni Valderas uses piñata techniques through various aspects in his work. Valderas’ site specific installation Tradecraft, for example, combines bilingual Spanish sayings and piñata making to create multicolored dilapidated signs and structures that highlight the convoluted relationships between the Latinx and American cultures. Currently Valderas is working on a grassroots project based in the West Dallas Oak Cliff Neighborhood. Quien Manda explores piñata-making as a tool for Latinx political engagement and community empowerment against gentrification. Valderas uses piñatas to underscore the fragility of affordable housing in the city but also to interact with and highlight the minority communities that are most impacted by forced displacement.
Through featuring the varying use of the piñata as explored by these three Latinx artists, Piñatasthetic demonstrates the continuing development and growth of the construct of the piñata and provides counter narratives to the appropriation of a craft and symbol that portrays Latinidad.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Justin Favela is an artist based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Known for large-scale installations and sculptures that manifest the artist’s interactions with American pop culture and the Latinx experience, Favela has exhibited his work both internationally and across the United States. Recent commissioned installations artwork at the Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. His latest major project, Puente Nuevo, is on view in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art through June 2020. Favela is the recipient of the 2018 Alan Turing LGTBIQ Award for International Artists. Favela hosts two culture-oriented podcasts: “Latinos Who Lunch” and “The Art People Podcast.” He holds a BFA in Fine Art from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Josué Ramírez, or Rawmirez, is a multidisciplinary artist working in the Rio Grande Valley along the US-Mexico border. Rawmirez graduated from the University of Texas, Austin, Texas, with a BA in Mexican American Studies. His current work investigates relationships between personal identity, meaning, and locations, particularly 'la frontera' through references of bilingualism, popular culture, Mexican imagery, traditional processes and crafts. Rawmirez was a featured artist in the 2019 Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival and is a 2019 Creative Change Fellow. Piñatabstract is a series exploring and expanding the notion of the Latinx craft tradition of piñatería with abstract expressionism, performance and multimedia work. You can follow his work here: @raw_mirez.
Giovanni Valderas is a native of Dallas, Texas, and is the Exhibition Manager at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Previously, he served as Gallery Director at Mountain View College, Dallas, Texas, and was Assistant Gallery Director at Kirk Hopper Fine Art, Dallas, Texas. He also served as an appointee by the Dallas City Council as Vice Chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission. Valderas graduated from the College of Visual Arts & Design at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, with a Masters of Fine Arts in Drawing & Painting. He has taught painting and drawing courses at the University of North Texas, Richland, and Mountain View College. Valderas is a former member of 500X Gallery, one of the oldest co-op galleries in Texas. His work has been featured in the 2013 Texas Biennial, New American Paintings magazine, (issues #108 and #132), Impossible Geometries: Curated works by Lauren Haynes at Field Projects in New York City, and 14x48.org’s temporary billboard public art project. In addition, Valderas received the Moss/Chumley Award and a micro-grant from the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, for his guerrilla site-specific project. In 2018, Valderas resigned from his reappointment to the City of Dallas, Cultural Affairs Commission having served under Councilman Omar Narvaez to run for Dallas City Council with plans to represent the neighborhood he grew up in. Valderas led a grassroots campaign where he placed a strong second.