Art League Houston presents Baroque on the Border, a series of paintings by Mexican-American artist Rigoberto A. Gonzalez. The dramatic oil paintings depict the violent confrontations between drug cartels, Mexican federal troops and people involved in undocumented immigration. Gonzalez offers an artistic snapshot of what is happening across the Texas-Mexico border, and taps into a rich historical tradition of artists exploring difficult issues within their culture through the beauty of painting.
Gonzalez has learned from the 17th century Baroque masters such as Caravaggio and Jusepe de Ribera. His work depicts the Mexican tragedies with similar rich colors and symbolism of the Baroque historical and religious dramas.
Rigoberto brings an additional voice to this story with a reference to the rich tradition of storytelling by placing the portraits of two musicians into his paintings. The musicians are playing songs known as a corridos, which are a narrative tradition in northern Mexico and usually express unpleasant stories about oppression and violence. Rigoberto sees his paintings as contemporary visual corridos, which are not made up of rhyme and verse, but instead of paint and movement.
Schedule of Events
Opening Reception for “Baroque on the Border” by RigobertoA. Gonzalez
Artist talk at 6:30 PM
Friday, March 9, 6 – 9 PM at Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006
http://www.artleaguehouston.org/
“Understanding the Violence along the U.S. Mexico Border: The Historical and Societal Context of Contemporary Realities” Panel Discussion & Satellite Exhibition.
Saturday, March 10, 1:30 – 3:00 PM at Talento Bilingüe de Houston, 333 S. Jensen Dr. Houston, Texas 77003 http://www.talentobilingue.org/
Moderator:
- John Pluecker, Writer, interpreter, translator and educator. His work is informed by experimental poetics, radical aesthetics and cross-border cultural production and has been featured in journals and magazines in the U.S. and Mexico, including the Rio Grande Review, Versal, Asymptote, Picnic, Third Text, Animal Shelter, Literal and HTMLGiant. http://johnpluecker.blogspot.com/
Panelists:
- Rigoberto A. Gonzalez, Mexican-American Artist http://rigobertogonzalezalonso.com/
- Ricardo Ainslie, PhD, Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas. “His forthcoming book, ‘The Savior of Juarez: Mexico at the Time of the Great Drug War” will be out in the Spring of 2013. http://ricardoainslie.com/
Using the paintings of Rigoberto A. Gonzalez as a jumping off point, this panel will examine the history and the societal context of the violence in Mexico, particularly along the country’s Northern border. Over the past five years of Calderón’s administration, more than 50,000 people have been killed in what has been called a “Drug War.” This panel will explore the historical and societal roots of the violence. Why has there been such an exponential growth of this unparalleled violence? Who are the perpetrators and who are the victims? We’ll also discuss the role of the United States in the conflict. This will be a bilingual event.
The panel discussion was made possible in part with help from Talento Bilingue De Houston and a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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For the third year in a row HoUSton Latinos United will celebrate with a professional MEGA networking event, Hispanic professional organizations will join the largest structured networking event in Houston.
