Event
Navigating by HandPost an Event »
Galería de la Raza
September 16 - October 25, 2015Info
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http://www.galeriadelaraza.org/
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(415) 826-8009
Reception
September 19, 2015 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Image: Lorraine García-Nakata. Navigating. 2015.
Widely known for her exquisite large-scale pastel and charcoal figure drawings, Lorraine García-Nakata’s mastery of an array of mediums from cast acrylic sculpture to tin miniature paintings is evident in this wide-ranging survey of her work, dating from 1964 to present. In contrast to the chronological focus retrospective exhibitions traditionally follow, Navigating by Hand maps distinct albeit intertwined trajectories. While García-Nakata’s artistic maturation follows a linear path, she has produced visual representations of her personal history both contemporarily and as memoir. In her earliest works, we see Lorraine’s childhood crayon drawings interpret colonialist 1950s schoolbook histories. In a later work, reflecting a time when the quinceañera had fallen from popular favor, we see a young Lorraine’s coming-of-age celebrated at a high school formal. Imagery of the artist’s family and visual reflections upon her career in arts administration stand as a testament to García-Nakata’s dedication to both family and work. In depictions ranging from ethereal visions of indigenous ancestry to a ceremonial passing-on of contemporary Chican@ cultural traditions, we come to understand how various influences—from the beehive hair-do, to membership in the Royal Chicano Air Force, to the values that galvanized El Movimiento—have contributed to the Lorraine of the present, and perhaps even hint at her legacy to come.