Milagros & Memories
Celebrating the work of iconic Latin American artists of the San Francisco Bay Area.
October 5 - November 10
Calixto Robles
The Sausalito Center For The Arts is proud to share the art and spirit of contemporary Bay Area Mexican American & Latino artists. The gripping and highly symbolic art represents a complex and dynamic culture that pulls elements from its historical Mexican, Latin, and indigenous roots, all presented with a modern twist.
Each artist’s work is highly stylistic, rich with symbols and colors creating images that are visually stunning and contemporary.
This exhibition promises to bring a new appreciation for the modern and edgy images created by the highly celebrated artists in this exhibition.
Among the nine artists participating in the upcoming “Milagros & Memories” exhibit at the Sausalito Center for the Arts are Juan Fuentes and Calixto Robles.
Both artists use their art to promote awareness and social change for Meso-American people. They are of Mexican heritage and ancestry, yet their art is varied in expression and reaches out to a wider audience.
While each of the two are different and unique, as artists of vision and dedication, they both embrace the rich cultural tapestry of the Americas which goes beyond Mexico.
This exhibit promises to bring a new appreciation for the modern and edgy images created by the highly celebrated artists in this unique exhibition.
Artist Reception
Saturday, October 12
5:00pm - 7:30 pm
Celebration of Dia de los Muertos
Saturday, October 26
5:00pm - 8:00pm
The artists of milagros and memories
Among the nine artists participating in the upcoming “Milagros & Memories” exhibit are Juan Fuentes and Calixto Robles.
Both artists use their art to promote awareness and social change for Meso-American people. They are of Mexican heritage and ancestry, yet their art is varied in expression and reaches out to a wider audience.
While each of the two are different and unique, as artists of vision and dedication, they both embrace the rich cultural tapestry of the Americas which goes beyond Mexico.
They both understand the reality that indigenous peoples throughout the Americas are and have always been imbedded in so many ways in the land and its biodiverse, ecological topography.
Long before Europeans and other settlers arrived in the Americas, indigenous people thrived and built communities, cities and civilizations. Despite the colonial conflicts and efforts to eradicate indigenous people and their existence from the land, they endured.
It is this struggle and endurance that both artists in their own way want to highlight.
Robles is from Oaxaca Mexico and moved to San Francisco in 1983. As a painter, printmaker, and ceramic sculptor, the inspiration he gets from Meso-American and indigenous or what he prefers to refer to as ‘First Nation people’s culture’ is essential.
Robles likes to incorporate sacred imagery of ancient Eastern as well as Western cultures into his art pieces. Robles uses natural and supernatural figures such as angels, eagles, jaguars, horses, hearts and moons.
“I have had shows at the De Young Museum, San Francisco, The Oakland Museum, The Mexican Cultural Center in Paris France, the Museo de la Estampa, in Mexico City, and Biblioteca de La Habana, in Habana, Cuba,” he said.
Like Robles, Fuentes has used printmaking techniques in his art. Born in Artesia, New Mexico, Fuentes was inspired by the Chicano Movement.
His mentors were Rupert Garcia and Malaquias Montoya. Over the years, Fuentes has dedicated his art as a cultural activist to support and be part of a global movement for social change.
Fuentes’ silkscreen posters and relief prints have addressed many issues as they relate to communities of color, social justice, racism, and international struggles for liberation.
Both artists have received accolades and are well-established and respected.
Fuentes has taught at the Mission Campus/City College of SF, the California College of the Arts, Oakland CA and he was visiting faculty at the San Francisco Art Institute’s print department.
Fuentes was also director of Mission Grafica at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. Since 2005, he has received several prestigious awards and honors.
Like Robles’ work, Fuentes’ prints and posters reside in various institutions and museums including, the Mexican Museum of San Francisco, the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Fine Arts Museum, the Library of Congress, and the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles.
Fuentes’ studio ‘Pajaro Editions’ is part of Consejo Grafico Nacional, a collective (coalition) of Chicano/Latino print studios, headquartered in New York City.
Fuentes’ work is also featured at CEMA, the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, University of Santa Barbara. Because of the impact of his work, CEMA has also set up a personal archive for his works.
Needless to say, both artists have had their art exhibited locally, nationally and internationally at various times in many places.
What many people don’t realize is that Mexican art has a long and rich history. Since its earliest days in the 1300s, Mexico City has been a major center.
And, while often people think of Mayan, Aztec and Olmec art as central to its artistic expression, Mexico City for example, has been a center for contemporary art, Freda Khalo and muralist Diego Rivera are among many. There are many, many more. This is why Mexican art is flourishing like at the Zona Maco Festival for more than two decades.
One of the most prolific opportunities for contemporary Mexican art to be expressed is during the “Day of the Dead” celebrations.
Making the most of the opportunity, this coming Oct 5, the Sausalito Center for the Arts (SCA) will be celebrating “the Day of The Dead,” with a 2nd annual “Milagros & Memories” month-long exhibit and benefit fundraiser.
“This exhibit promises to bring a new appreciation for the modern and edgy images created by the highly celebrated artists in this unique exhibition,” said SCA executive director, Shiva Pakdel.
“The gripping and highly symbolic art represents a complex and dynamic culture, said Pakdel, that pulls elements from its historical Mexican, Latin, and indigenous roots, all presented with a modern twist.”
The participants in the exhibit are:
Juan Fuentes
Calixto Robles
Alexandra Blum
Guillermo Kelly
Alejandra Chaves
Andrea Gonzales
Sol Navarrete
Isidoro Angeles
Licita Fernandez
A collection of artist Michael Roman will also be featured. Known as “The Latino Wild-Style” artist, Roman was prolific in using many different techniques. He died in 2016, but his work lives on.
“Each artist’s work is highly stylistic, rich with symbols and colors creating images that are visually stunning and contemporary,” added Pakdel