"Muxeres" Curated by: Crystal Galindo, 2016
Traditionally, men have been at the forefront of major art movements while simultaneously overlooking the womxn who have also shaped the evolution of art making. When womxn are used as subjects, it has historically been white men who have created the work, and reduced their story to an often patriarchal/male-centered idealization. Many museums and galleries in our present time are still a reflection of Eurocentric patriarchal work, while artists of color struggle to find a voice in the mainstream. Muxeres serves to open up a safe space for artists who identify as womxn, as well as trans, Gender Non Conforming, and Gender Fluid. By using the term “Muxer” we acknowledge the power in telling our own stories, reclaiming our roots, and using our perspectives as a tool to facilitate change that transcends the art world. We reserve the right to speak on our sexuality, colorism, Eurocentric beauty standards, the effects of gentrification, the complexity of gender, and more. Telling a story through our own lens is crucial to representation, normalization, and reversing the effects of dehumanizing stereotypes. Muxeres is a means of celebrating the many dimensions in which our bodies, spirits, and minds react to our ever changing world.
Exhibiting artists:
Artists:
Monique Islam
Crystal Galindo
Ramona Garcia
Monica Vega Latona
Yvette Mayorga
Liberty Pierson
Vanessa Haro
Heather Hathaway Miranda
Lorena Cruz
Loretta Carpio Carr
Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
Monique Kimberly Hernandez
Diana K. Arreola
Araceli Espinoza
Traditionally, men have been at the forefront of major art movements while simultaneously overlooking the womxn who have also shaped the evolution of art making. When womxn are used as subjects, it has historically been white men who have created the work, and reduced their story to an often patriarchal/male-centered idealization. Many museums and galleries in our present time are still a reflection of Eurocentric patriarchal work, while artists of color struggle to find a voice in the mainstream. Muxeres serves to open up a safe space for artists who identify as womxn, as well as trans, Gender Non Conforming, and Gender Fluid. By using the term “Muxer” we acknowledge the power in telling our own stories, reclaiming our roots, and using our perspectives as a tool to facilitate change that transcends the art world. We reserve the right to speak on our sexuality, colorism, Eurocentric beauty standards, the effects of gentrification, the complexity of gender, and more. Telling a story through our own lens is crucial to representation, normalization, and reversing the effects of dehumanizing stereotypes. Muxeres is a means of celebrating the many dimensions in which our bodies, spirits, and minds react to our ever changing world.
Exhibiting artists:
Artists:
Monique Islam
Crystal Galindo
Ramona Garcia
Monica Vega Latona
Yvette Mayorga
Liberty Pierson
Vanessa Haro
Heather Hathaway Miranda
Lorena Cruz
Loretta Carpio Carr
Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
Monique Kimberly Hernandez
Diana K. Arreola
Araceli Espinoza
About the Curator, Crystal Galindo
Crystal Galindo is a Yaqui-Xicana artist living in the San Francisco Bay area. Born and raised in Tulare County, Crystal grew up with dreams of being a well known artist/figure painter. Her first drawings were in coloring books and the blank pages of bedtime stories shared among her three siblings. Determined to perfect her skill, she spent countless hours filling lined notebooks with her studies of figures, ranging from close-ups of faces to cholo style portraits. Crystal's main influence in the arts was her father, who gave up his own dreams of portraiture to support his family.
Crystal was self-taught until 2004, when she enrolled in drawing fundamentals and beginning painting at College of the Sequoias. Coupling her innate understanding of the human figure and technical instruction, Crystal's skill quickly evolved, supplementing the conceptual projects that began to take shape in painting form. Moving to the San Francisco Bay area, her work began to reach a larger audience, with social media helping to propel her exposure. She quickly became recognized for her bright, “confrontational” self-portraits and celebration of her culture. While still in undergrad at Sonoma State University her portraits traveled the state in various group exhibitions and galleries.
Crystal's popular portrait series Multifacetica spotlights womxn (friends, family and fellow artistas) in a way that focuses on the power and pride her subjects exude. Crystal's work has been shown in numerous venues across the state of California and currently continues to expand to galleries across the country and world. She is currently working on a new series, Xingonxs, to be debuted later this year.
Crystal Galindo is a Yaqui-Xicana artist living in the San Francisco Bay area. Born and raised in Tulare County, Crystal grew up with dreams of being a well known artist/figure painter. Her first drawings were in coloring books and the blank pages of bedtime stories shared among her three siblings. Determined to perfect her skill, she spent countless hours filling lined notebooks with her studies of figures, ranging from close-ups of faces to cholo style portraits. Crystal's main influence in the arts was her father, who gave up his own dreams of portraiture to support his family.
Crystal was self-taught until 2004, when she enrolled in drawing fundamentals and beginning painting at College of the Sequoias. Coupling her innate understanding of the human figure and technical instruction, Crystal's skill quickly evolved, supplementing the conceptual projects that began to take shape in painting form. Moving to the San Francisco Bay area, her work began to reach a larger audience, with social media helping to propel her exposure. She quickly became recognized for her bright, “confrontational” self-portraits and celebration of her culture. While still in undergrad at Sonoma State University her portraits traveled the state in various group exhibitions and galleries.
Crystal's popular portrait series Multifacetica spotlights womxn (friends, family and fellow artistas) in a way that focuses on the power and pride her subjects exude. Crystal's work has been shown in numerous venues across the state of California and currently continues to expand to galleries across the country and world. She is currently working on a new series, Xingonxs, to be debuted later this year.