AirTalk's Chicano ArtTalk and Pacific Standard Time Exhibit

This month, as part of the ambitious celebration of SoCal art that is "Pacific Standard Time," KPCC and AirTalk with Larry Mantle will divine our inner curator. We are excited to announce a one-night Chicano art exhibit with the artists themselves and their works in the Crawford Family Forum.

Trailblazers of the Chicano art movement, Patssi Valdez and the artist known as Gronk, will reveal the roots of this vibrant and distinct school. The next generation will be represented by Sonia Romero and Enrique Castrejon. We will trace their history in LA's art scene -- a history that began with struggle.

The early days of the modern American art movement were once described as "racist, aloof, pretentious and elitist" by Armando Vazquez. In his essay, "Reflection on the Chicano Art Movimiento," Vasquez said it wouldn't be until the 1950s and 60s that Chicanos, Jews, Blacks, Native Americans and women would penetrate the monolith known as 'American art and culture.' Los Angeles was a focal point of that fundamental shift. The birth of Chicano art coincided with the birth of LA as a center for contemporary art and artistic innovation distinct to Southern California. To see what separates this class of creative expression from the rest, come to the Crawford Family Forum on Wednesday, October 19th.

6:00pm - Doors Open
6:30pm - Program

Admission is FREE, but RSVP's are required. Click header for more RSVP info.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
The Crawford Family Forum
474 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105

-30-

HOY SPACE: Sonia Romero's Inner Landscape

HOY SPACE: Sonia Romero's Inner Landscape

Gallery 4
May 20 to August 19, 2011

Vincent Price Art Museum is delighted to present a solo show by Los Angeles-based artist Sonia Romero to inaugurate its new project gallery called the HOY SPACE. In Spanish, Hoy means “today” or “nowadays,” and fittingly the HOY SPACE features contemporary artists whose practice extends across media and who address current and active contemporary topics. The HOY SPACE offers emerging artists their first museum show, and for mid-career artists, a chance to make new work that may not fit in other contexts or venues.

Ms. Romero’s installation Inner Landscape is a mixture of painting, block printing, felt sculptures, and paper cuts that are intelligently unified both formally and conceptually. Romero began as a painter, and then in college at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), she majored in printmaking thereby exploring every printing process she could: etching, lithography, silkscreen and block printing. Rather than treat each medium as a distinct and separate creation, or as an end in itself, her work reflects a bold mixing of painting with print; a juxtaposition that has become decidedly her own.

Romero’s imagery is certainly recognizable: whimsical, quirky – and even at times – playful, the artist’s approach reduces elements down to their essentials without a sense of preciousness. The innocence of her drawing belies the complexity of her subject matter. Romero is a keen investigator: her work asks questions and explores social issues. However, there is no polemical stance or finger pointing.

The three large piles we see upon entering Inner Landscape are seemingly benign, arranged like haystacks; from left to right, we recognize bison skulls, kernels of corn, and bright, white eggs, piled up to about 9 feet each. Each of these piles is directly inspired by the artist’s keen interest in the historical and contemporary relationship of people with food. The bison skulls reference American perceptions toward nature and wildlife during the founding of this country; the corn kernels pay homage to a commodity that in its superabundance has become one of the most ubiquitous; and the egg pile to an almost half billion salmonella-related egg recall that occurred in 2010.

A long-time fascination with the politics of consumption has led Romero to create what she calls “gorgeous manifestations of abundance.” Void of darkness, gloominess or judgment, in each element of her installation, Romero invites us to consider imagining our own inner landscape, and seeks to engage us with our own personal stories that may resonate with the ones she has shared with us.

Sonia Romero is a Los Angeles native, and maintains a studio in Highland Park. She received her BFA from RISD in 2002. This is her first solo museum exhibition. She has had solo shows at The Folk Tree, Los Angeles, CA and Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA, in addition to many group exhibitions across the United States. She is also well known for her public-art-commissioned projects for the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Please visit the artist’s website:www.SoniaRomero.net for more information.

-30-