The Mexican Museum’s next exhibition, “Cinco y Cinco/Five and Five” features the work of artists Victor Cartagena, Rolando Castellon, Adriana Castro, Ana de la Cueva, Lewis deSoto, Juan Jota Leaños, Gera Lozano, Geri Montano, Bernardo Roman Palau, and Gustavo Ramos Rivera. El Tecolote sat down with guest curator Anthony Torres to learn more about the exhibition, which runs June 23 — Nov. 6.
Tell us about the exhibit, “Cinco y Cinco/ Five and Five.” Is there any significance to the name?
The name “Cinco y Cinco/Five and Five” came from a decision to invite five artists who have garnered a certain regional, national, and international acclaim to [each] nominate another artist for the exhibition, as a means of extending opportunities to artists they deem worthy of greater recognition or to grant exposure for a public who may not be familiar with their work.
Tell us about the artists, and how they wound up being featured in the show together?
Some of the artists, and their work, I have been familiar with and admired for some time. In a couple of cases, I was introduced to the artist’s work by the other artists who were invited to participate in the project.
In many cases, the participating artists’ careers are too expansive to be addressed here, and the aesthetic and social issues in the work are too complex to do justice to the histories evident in their work. That said, at the very least, one theme is that Latino artists and their art practices are diverse, and thus, the assembled work articulates that the usefulness of the terms “Latin American” and “Latino Art” may need to be questioned—that perhaps it is more important that these terms be looked at as constantly changing ambiguous issue-based areas of inquiry that are specific to the artists, and formulated within an expanded and inclusive redefinition of “American” art within an interconnected global dialogue.
This is true for all ten of the artists: Victor Cartagena, Rolando Castellon, Adriana Castro, Ana de la Cueva, Lewis deSoto, Juan Jota Leaños, Gera Lozano, Geri Montaño, Bernardo Roman Palau, and Gustavo Ramos Rivera.
What is the central theme/themes of the exhibit?
It is a difficult question to address, because the selection of works is based on the artists’ individual interests and the merits of their work. Thus the works are varied and diverse, and so, if there are intersecting issues and connections, or identifiable themes that emerge, they will be constructed as much by the visitors’ encounters with the works as by the overarching content of the assembled works.
What kind of art will be displayed in “Cinco y Cinco?” I understand there will be many different types of art.
Yes, there will be a range of work, from abstract painting to video, to site-specific installations.
What will visitors come away with after viewing the exhibit?
I can’t say, as different people will respond differently. I think aesthetic experiences are personal—ideally, deeply personal. That said, I feel that there will be works on display that are emotionally moving, have a lasting impact and will honor the history being celebrated by this exhibition: “Cinco y Cinco.”
How did you come to curate the exhibit?
I became aware that as the Mexican Museum moves into the future they might be in need of a curator with academic and curatorial experience. I had a range of ideas for exhibitions, so I approached the institution with my resume, and they brought me on board to develop “Cinco y Cinco/Five and Five.”
What makes this exhibit stand out, or make it different from others?
It is a particular historically grounded event that to a certain extent is concerned with celebrating, as well as interrogating, problematizing, and deconstructing what may or may not constitute “Latino” art. I think people will have to come to their own conclusions about if, or how, it is different from other exhibitions. It is not a question with which I was I was particularly concerned; my concern was to assemble works of high quality that may challenge simplistic definitions of “Latino” art, and to acknowledge the role of institutions like the Mexican Museum in expanding these definitions and addressing complex issues.