January 23 - February 27, 2019
Opening Reception: Wednesday, January 23, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Miguel Aragon, Aaron Coleman, Sandra Fernandez, Annalise Gratovich, Marco Hernandez, Kristin Powers Nowlin, Patricia Villalobos Echeverria
Curated by Humberto Saenz
Activate is an exhibition that explores issues of race, immigration, diaspora, culture, and politics. The work of seven national artists presents a variety of viewpoints and interpretations of the current issues that structure experience and identity and the dynamic exchange of ideas, art and culture.
Kristin Powers Nowlin’s work has explored the various ways that American popular, scientific, or academic cultures have defined and determined the race of a given individual. The Land of Romance, her current body of work, responds to images used in popular ephemeraof the 1920’s-1950’s, including, among others, Norfolk and Western Railroad travel brochures promoting Virginia as “the land of romance, hospitality, and beauty”; Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix ads; and Maxwell House Coffee ads.
"Through my work I continue the exploration of trying to capture and freeze a specific moment, the marks of time, conveying the transitory nature of memory, reflecting on the process of recollection and alluding to the transitory nature of human existence." – Miguel A. Aragon
"My current body of work explores issues of religion, society, and politics in contemporary Mexican culture. I’m also inspired by my personal experiences growing up as a Mexican immigrant in California and the Midwest. Mexican and Mexican American symbols play a large role in my prints. The symbols span from ancient Mesoamerican imagery to contemporary popular culture items such as the Valentina hot sauce." –Marco Hernandez
"My work once found its origin in current events concerning the sociopolitical issues of discrimination, civil rights and the misuse of mainstream religion. More recently it has evolved into a blanket description of the apocalyptic world in which we live. Police brutality, racial discrimination, religious extremism, persecution of the LGBT communities, economic unrest, global warming, species extinction, habitat loss, holy wars, power trips and ego mania are the extremes my work addresses." –Aaron Coleman
"My work explores themes of displacement, self- and cultural identity, intention and accountability, as well as burden and regret. The figures are based on matryoshka dolls (Russian stacking dolls) and the textile patterns are derived from Ukrainian embroidery, either in patterning or stylistic outline. This nod to the traditional and folk arts of the lands of my heritage, Ukraine and the American South, is important and used to invoke feelings of nostalgia- memories or fantasies of faraway places which are lost or cannot be returned to."—Annalise Gratovich
"My artwork pivots around issues of migration, navigation, displacement and transformation. Through a hybrid practice that encompasses print media, site-specific and participatory projects, I tap into our sense of memory, of being and of belonging within the divergent territories we inhabit—geographic, cultural, social, political—and the (in)stability therein." —Patricia Villalobos Echeverria
"The body of work I am presenting for this show reflects my concerns with current social issues affecting the Latinx communities in the USA. I am addressing border crossings, child labor, deportations, Dreamers, child arrivals and the sorrow surrounding these injustices." –Sandra C. Fernandez
Free and open to the public.
UTSA Main Art Gallery
Department of Art & Art History
One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78249
Hours of Operation:
Tuesday - Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 1pm - 4pm,
Sunday & Monday closed.
Contact: Victoria.Jones@utsa.edu | 210-458-4391
Directions:
The UTSA Main Art Gallery is located in the Art Building on UTSA’s Main campus on the 2nd floor in room 2.03.04.
From I-10, take Exit #557 to UTSA Blvd. Metered parking is available in the Ximenes Ave Garage. For more information: http://colfa.utsa.edu/colfa/docs/Park-construction-Map_2017-18.pdf. Shuttle buses travel directly to the Art/Music Building.
