Influenced by post-Mexican Revolution ideology, pre-Columbian art, European painting techniques and social issues facing Mexican-Americans, the Chicano art movement has represented both the struggle and success of Mexican-American artists since the 1960s. Decades-old pieces are still the standard to educate new generations on the culture, history and values of Chicano identity, an educational process held dear by California Heritage Museum guest curator Pablo De La Rosa.
With the help of his lenders, De La Rosa has put together a mecca of Chicano art at the Santa Monica museum, presenting “Arte Chicano Hecho En Los Angeles,” a tribute to both the well-known and burgeoning artists representing Santa Monica and beyond. The exhibit runs the gamut from the legendary “Los Four” (Carlos Almaraz, Gilbert “Magu” Lujan, Frank Romero and Roberto De La Rocha) to those who are now part of a major exhibit for the first time.
“I wanted to tell the story of how Chicano art got started and how it evolved,” De La Rosa said. “There were several artists that were never given notoriety … a lot of artists than were [on] the fringe that didn’t have the same opportunities and connections. I wanted to show that side that not too many people have seen, and I think that one of the refreshing things about this exhibit is that you’re seeing a lot of art that … people that come here that are very familiar with Chicano art … even said that [they] didn’t know about [these artists].”
The artist variety also extends to the artwork itself, which ranges from traditional paintings to more abstract pieces that capture the resourcefulness of Chicano art. A piece from Sergio Vasquez for the collection, “Like Father Like Son,” seems like an ordinary portrait of a man with his child, but the “oil on found object” nature of the piece hid something deeper. Painted on a door with a compartment hidden by latch, Vasquez was able to open the latch and draw on the wood inside, leaving his mark with the phrase “it ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.”
Another unique viewpoint is from artist Gronk’s 2023 piece “Tormenta,” part of a series of women drawn from behind. This particular part of the series was born from a night of camaraderie and cooking between Gronk and fellow artists, with a burnt quesadilla going from trash-bound to inspiration.
“The next morning, [Gronk] gets up, and he notices this thing on the other table … so he got a piece of plastic, a plastic cover … and [said] this looks kind of cool, so he strapped it to this piece of plywood, and then he says wait a minute, this kind of looks like the rear of the back of the head of a tormenta, so then he went ahead and painted around this thing,” De La Rosa added.
Each artwork unlocks another crucial piece of Mexican-American culture, such as Jose Lozano’s acrylic tribute to masked luchador Mil Mascaras, as well as the various works detailing the Chicano culture’s love of cars. De La Rosa himself was a child of Boyle Heights in the mid-20th Century, getting a sense of what was important to his peers.
“When you lived in your neighborhood, you very seldom left your neighborhood, you were always [there] and the one thing that we had that we would spend time with and energy and love [on] was our cars,” De La Rosa said. “So in the Chicano experience, a lot of Chicano artists are always going to be putting in some form of an automobile.”
Along with saluting the Chicano culture, the exhibit is geared toward highlighting young artists, such as a Santa Monica youth named Gus who collaborated with Gronk on an untitled robot-esque piece. The young artist was able to translate his struggles into talent, a trend De La Rosa hopes continues in the art community.
“One of the things I was trying to achieve was to provide these young artists an opportunity where they could be part of a larger exhibit [and] be able to do it in their own backyard … this is where [they’re] going to be looked at and hopefully people are going to realize that [they’re] great,” he added.
The Arte Chicano Hecho En Los Angeles exhibit is open at the California Heritage Museum through June 2. For more information, visit their website.