Experience the Tradition, Culture, and Memory before it leaves.
The Delaware Art Museum invites the public to come and experience the last weeks of Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection on view. The exhibition will be open to the public until May 28th, 2023. The exhibition chronicles the unique heritage, history, and experience of Mexican Americans and Latinos between 1980 and 2010. It showcases 61 eye-catching screen prints and lithographs from the McNay Art Museum collection in San Antonio, TX. You certainly don’t want to miss this unique opportunity to see an exhibition of this kind in the area. You can also experience Estampas de la Raza with a guide-led tour in English or Spanish. Dates and times are available on the website. Check-in at the front desk 10 minutes before the beginning of the tour. Such a great chance to learn in more detail the history behind and the processes the artists use to exhibit as diverse and unique as Estampas.
Lifelong educators, Harriett and Ricardo Romo spent four decades supporting Latino artists and collecting their works. Inspired by the Chicano art movement of the 1960s and 1970s, many of these artists activate Pop Art aesthetics and powerful messages to explore the complex identities and struggles of Latinos living in the United States. The exhibition highlights Mexican icons, including Frida Kahlo and Che Guevara, and celebrates Latino cultural traditions.
Estampas de la Raza provides a comprehensive introduction to the Latino artists’ contribution to post-1960 American printmaking. The exhibition also raises awareness of three highly influential print shops—Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG) and Modern Multiples in Los Angeles, and Coronado Studio in Austin. Of the more than 60 prints in the exhibition, the vast majority came from one of these collaborative shops. These shops have not only introduced a previously underserved audience to printmaking but have also been central to the creativity and cultural awareness of their respective Chicano and Latino communities.
Works in the exhibition focus on five themes: Identity; Struggle; Tradition, Culture, Memory; Icons; and Other Voices. The 44 featured printmakers include Raul Caracoza, Sam Coronado, Richard Duardo, Germs (Jaime Zacarias), Ignacio Gomez, Ester Hernandez, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., Malaquias Montoya, Frank Romero, Patssi Valdez, and Ernesto Yerena.
You can also experience Estampas de la Raza with a guide-led tour in English or Spanish. Dates and times are available on the website. Check-in at the front desk 10 minutes before the beginning of the tour. Such a great chance to learn in more detail the history behind and the processes the artists use to exhibit as diverse and unique as Estampas.
Community Commissions To accompany Estampas de la Raza, the Delaware Art Museum commissioned two additional projects from local Mexican-born artists Julieta Zavala, a fashion designer, and Cesar Viveros, a muralist, painter, screen-printer, clay, and paper-mâché sculptor. “I’m proud that an important venue like DelArt chose to put on a culturally diverse exhibition like Estampas,” Zavala said. Viveros agrees, saying that the display of this type of art inside a museum excites him. Both artists created unique pieces inspired by their culture, heritage, and community.
Cesar Viveros is involved in many community projects in the Philadelphia area. His art is inspired by the stories and experiences shared by community members. Focused on sharing his culture, heritage, and history, he creates unique art pieces and spaces where those stories come alive, like Jardin Iglesias, where ancient traditions and contemporary art merge. Viveros transformed the Delaware Art Museum’s Orientation Hall with a mural and a series of screen prints inspired by his conversations with members of the Hispanic American Association of Delaware and Los Abuelos, a senior group from the Latin American Community Center.
Zavala, a graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia, is a fashion designer based in Newark, DE. She created a fashion collection inspired by the art in Estampas de la Raza and currently on display is a special piece in the museum gallery. “La Mera Mera,” this outfit and work of art combines references to the Virgin of Guadalupe and contemporary Latino culture.
On May 13th, “Julieta Zavala: Tradition, Cultura, Memory Fashion Show” the museum showcased more of Zavala’s designs, produced during her residency at DelArt this year. “The fashion show, brought light to the culture and the indigenous people of Mexico, expressing themselves through art and social justice to invoke that we are present even in the fabric that we wear. We will always be connected to our roots ” DelArt Community Engagement Specialist Iz Balleto says.
This exhibition is organized by the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, with generous support provided by Art Bridges. Estampas de la Raza is also supported in Delaware by the Johannes R. and Betty P. Krahmer American Art Exhibition Fund. This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.
Community commissions are organized by the Delaware Art Museum, with generous support provided by Art Bridges.
Media Contact: Amelia Wiggins, Director of Advancement & External Affairs | awiggins@delart.org
About the Delaware Art Museum
For over 100 years, the Museum has served as a primary arts and cultural institution in Delaware. It is alive with experiences, discoveries, and activities to connect people with art and with each other. Created in 1912 to honor the renowned illustrator and Wilmington-native, Howard Pyle, the Museum’s collection has grown to over 12,000 works of art in our building and sculpture garden. Also recognized for British Pre-Raphaelite art, the Museum is home to the most comprehensive Pre-Raphaelite collection on display outside of the United Kingdom, and a growing collection of significant contemporary art.
Under the leadership of our Board of Trustees, the Delaware Art Museum is implementing a comprehensive approach to community and civic engagement. This exciting new strategic direction requires that we increase our value and relevance to all audiences. Visit delart.org for the latest exhibitions, programs, and performances, or connect with us via social media.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection
WHEN: April 1, 2023 – May 28, 2023
WHERE: Delaware Art Museum
COST: Free after admission; tickets available at delart.org
INFO: delart.org/estampas
Top: Young Frida (Pink) (detail), 2006. Raul Caracoza. Screenprint, 26 1/8 x 26 1/8 inches (image). Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo, 2009.42. © Raul Caracoza.