Taller 75 Grados

We had some silkscreen prints made at Taller 75 Grados in Mexico City last July (for the Desert Triangle Print Carpeta), and bought some masterpieces by Mexican artists while we were down there:

Ruben Albarran

Rafahu Aguilar

Alex Arizmendi

Burendo

(Oscar Dominguez)

Pedro Coronel

Dr Aldrete

Daniel Gonzalez

Jilipolo

Alejandro Magallanes

Cardo Negrete

Jose Quintero

Rezizte

Rezizte

Roberto Sanchez

Skinpop

Skinpop

Skinpop

Smithe

Elmer Sosa

Raul Urias

Cedric Volon

I saw a bunch of street posters supporting women's causes by Mujeres Grabando Resistencia, and exhibited as Vivas Nos Queremos:

Wall of these posters 

at the Rancho Electronico hackerspace 

n Mexico City

"Matarme te hizo mas hombre?"

I had seen these street posters in Juarez earlier this year

More of these women's causes street posters,

pasted on the wall outside at the prepa 

The street posters seemed to be created in

the Prepa Popular Tacuba-Obrera 

I also bought some relief prints next to Bellas Artes, where Mario Martinez, from Puebla, was selling them on the street:

In Xalapa I saw some prints by Zamer, in a hipster pulqueria (La Otra).  While I did not buy any of those prints (yet), I thought that the pulqueria was the perfect print gallery:

I was in Xalapa after making a lithograph at La Ceiba in nearby Coatepec.  Later Manuel Guerra flew down to La Ceiba to make his lithograph for the Desert Triangle Print Carpeta project.

While in Mexico, I also went down to Oaxaca to see Francisco Delgado make his print for the Desert Triangle Print Carpeta project.

Baja Califas

We bought some prints from Pavel Acevedo, a Oaxacan printmaker currently living in Riverside.

Pavel Acevedo,

with the Oaxaca Collective carpeta in the background

Tanya Rich discovered (on Facebook) that the Oaxaca Collective (Carpeta Nacional de Estampa en Mexico) was on display at Urge Pallete art supply shop, so we made a detour through Riverside on our way to Los Angeles.  We were pleasantly surprised to find Pavel Acevedo there when we walked in.

"Untitled"

by Pavel Acevedo

"Vincent"

by Pavel Acevedo

We did not meet Pavel during our trip to Oaxaca last December, but we had seen his artwork down there.  Nidia Rosales Moreno runs the Espacio Centro in Oaxaca, with Pavel's help.

***

Then we continued on, to the Vincent Price Art Museum, on the campus of East Los Angeles College, to see the Estampas de la Raza print show.  Very impressive!

Estampas de la Raza print show,

at the Vincent Prince Art Museum 

in Los Angeles

I missed the Estampas de la Raza show when it was in Albuquerque, but bought the catalog while passing through Santa Fe.  I could not believe how much better the prints looked person, than they did in the catalog!  The color was more lively; many of the prints were huge.  They were well framed and exceptionally displayed.  We were humbled and very inspired by this exhibition.

***

Later we discovered the Avenue 50 Studio art gallery, where the walls were covered by famous Chicano artists (such as those covered in the book Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Work, Culture, and Education).  That was a big thrill!  Daniel Gonzalez has a studio around the corner.

Avenue 50 Studio,

Gallery and artspace,

in Highland Park, LA

***

Then we went to the opening at SPARC in LA --  Marietta Bernstorff's "New Codex -- Immigration and Cultural Memory" -- and enjoyed the exhibit, including the new graphic mural on the outside, by the Oaxacan art collective "La Pistola."

"La Pistola" art collective from Oaxaca,

stenciled a mural on the SPARC building,

in Venice, Califas

***

In addition to the above, we checked out ChimMaya Gallery, Coagula Curatorial Gallery, works by the late Chris Burden at LACMA, the downtown MOCAs, and enjoyed some rooftop music at the Perch.

***

On the way out of town, Memorial Day morning, we slipped through LA's gritty downtown Arts District, to see the recent El Mac mural.

Recent El Mac mural,

on the American Hotel,

in downtown LA's Arts District

JR wheatpaste,

by French artist,

in the LA Arts District

Damon Martin's mural,

of Ai Wei Wei,

on the District Gallery,

in LA's Art District

Tire totem pole,

in the LA Arts District

We stalked LA in part, because one day we would like to do a YayBig Southwest pop-up gallery in Los Angeles (perhaps the downtown ArtWalk).  But also to collect prints and find inspiration (and even do a little life drawing).  We may get prints made at Modern Multiples.  LA is only a day's drive from Tucson, so we need to take advantage of this world art center.  

In our broadest definition, the Southwest reaches all the way to the Bay Area.  Next week our YayBig Print Exchange opens at TANA, outside of Sacramento.

While the YayBig Gallery no longer exists, the Southwest print collection continues to snowball, leading to the next big project.  We have commissioned 29 artists to make big prints, 22 x 30", in editions of fifty.  The working title is the "Desert Triangle Print Carpeta" (Tucson, El Paso, and Albuquerque being roughly the vertices of this triangle, in flyover territory).  The main objective is to exhibit, both in and out of the Southwest, to fire up our artists to make more prints!  We hope to start exhibiting this print carpeta this September.

Print Houston

I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the print fair in Houston -- It Came From the Bayou -- at the Saint Arnold Brewery, on Sunday, April 19th.

Houston Print Fair
Sponsored by PrintMatters

Big Houston Print Fair
Flickr photos of the event!!!!!!!!!

I bought many very affordable prints for the YayBig Southwest collection from:

• Lucas Ball   Denton, Texas
• Carlos Barberena   Chicago via Nicaragua
• Dylan Goldberger  New York
• Guerra Studios   South Texas
• The Amazing Hancock Brothers*   Beaumont, Texas
• Carlos Hernandez*   Houston
• Amber Kaiser   Houston
• Lady Lazarus printmakers   Houston
• Brian Maclaskey   Austin
• Marogon   Kingsville, Texas
• Dennis McNett*   Houston
• Carlos Pozo  Houston
• Matt Rebholz   Austin
• Jonathan Rebolloso   Austin
• Christopher Wallace   Houston

* part of the Outlaw Printmakers

Students from Texas A&M Kingsville made me a t-shirt on the press:

Meanwhile, the main event was big steam roller prints.  Between 11 am and 3 pm, they made 50 prints (using Gamblin relief ink):

The previous day (Saturday, April 18) I went to the Open House at Burning Bones Press. Besides demonstrations,they had people from Drive By Press, Gamblin and Speedball.

Burning Bones Press

Letterpress demo

Burning Bones studio

I came to Texas to see the big steam roller prints in a San Antonio museum, which were done in El Paso last October.  On a lark I decided to sleuth prints in  Houston, after finding the Burning Bones Press announcement online.  The print show far exceeded my expectations.  Congratulations Houston!

"It Came from the Bayou"
 Facebook event page

San Antonio pop-up -- Gallista Gallery

Gallista Gallery

On the evening of April 11th, I set up a pop-up print table in front of the 3rd Space Art Gallery space, in the back of the Gallista Gallery complex, near downtown San Antonio.  It was so much fun showing the artwork during the Second Saturday artwalk.  Thank you Kim Bishop and Luis Valderas for having me!

A print selection from our collection,

both from the Southwest and Oaxaca

Print connoisseur

The scene in front of me

Projection of video

showing the steam roller prints

that Kim and Luis produced

at Texas A&M San Antonio

Alejandro Macias had the main show at the 3rd Space Art Gallery:

I bought 4 thick books on Chicano Art at the Gallista Gallery:

• Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Work, Culture, and Education (2 Volumes)

    

• Chicano Art for Our Millennium: Collected Works from the Arizona State University Community

Santiago Perez on the cover

• Triumph of Our Communities: Four Decades of Mexican American Art

I also bought a new prints from Jenn Rodriguez and Arthur Morales at the Ⓡspace across the street, least I return to Tucson empty handed.  Last summer we bought one of her prints front Etsy for the YayBig Southwest collection, but I had never met her before.  So this was an unexpected treat, finding her there.  

Jenn Rodriguez

Jenn introduced me to Alex Rubio last night, as she was exhibiting in his gallery.  Alex has prints showing currently at the Vincent Price Museum-- Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection -- and next month we intend to drive out to LA to see them.

Alex Rubio electrifies San Antonio

I came to San Antonio to see the steam roller prints displayed at a fancy  museum downtown --  Texas A&M University-San Antonio Educational and Cultural Arts Center (ECAC)  -- in a show called Texas Sized Breach.  Kim and Luis came to El Paso last October to print with El Paso artists Jesus "Cimi" Alvarado, Zeque Penya and Francisco Delgado.  (and we sided busted, bringing two Tucson artists into the mix -- Ruben Urrea Moreno and Marcus Robiason).

See all the steamroller prints in the museum at this blog link!!!

The fancy museum downtown 

*** Texas A&M University-San Antonio Educational and Cultural Arts Center (ECAC)***

Both Tucson prints are on the left side of this picture

Sheet of one large print

Celeste de Luna did a big steam roller print

with the Texas A&M San Antonio group

(not the El Paso group).

She came to the Gallista pop-up print show last night

Other art in San Antonio:

Dr Lakra mural, done 2014 --

he is from Oaxaca, where we saw his work last December

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada

huge parking lot mural

in downtown San Antonio

I also enjoyed Vincent Valdez's work in the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Later I went to Austin and bought two silk screen prints from the Serie Project at the Mexic-Arte Museum:

Jesus "Cimi"Alvarado

Juan de dios Mora

While in Austin I also visited Flatbed Press and Slugfest Printmaking Workshop.