Art exhibit shapes its way to TAMUK
A new art exhibit has shaped its way to the Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) Ben Bailey Art Gallery.
The project is entitled “Americas Favorite” by Karla Gabriela De La Fuente which is inspired by her experiences in the borderlands, it also challenges socio-economic boundaries and explores the disconnect between labor consumerism and identity.
De La Fuente also uses a technique known as “Todo Hecho A Mano” (Everything Made by Hand) which then in turn uses environmental elements to craft her art.
Using these techniques her art exhibit was created, which offered Homer Ramirez III an Art Studio Technician at TAMUK, a chance to show how not every art gallery or piece of work requires a huge sum of money.
“Using mixed medium items like Karla did is always a really good point to go to. It shows you don’t have to spend money on canvases, on frames. You can use whatever material you have laying around the house. You can make it into a type of artwork,” Ramirez said.
Using De La Fuente’s “Todo Hecho A Mano” technique she is embodying Rasquachismo, which is commonly used to describe aesthetics present in the working-class Chicano art and Mexican art movements.
De La Fuente then combines those previously mentioned elements and her resourcefulness with a critical examination of Americana to form her final product.
“As I always tell my students, art making and making work is like singing. Everybody has a voice, and everybody has a story and something to say. Now the artist has been working to translate her story, and it can be something that can be decorative, or it can be protest art or it can be both,” TAMUK Art Professor Jesus De La Rosa said about this unique gallery show.
De La Fuente’s art along with its powerful message can also inspire students to see what’s possible as someone who was once in a college art student’s shoes.
“I think it’s really good for the students. They can see what’s possible for someone who’s been on a similar path and how they might end up in a position where they can show their work in the gallery professionally like that one day,” TAMUK art Lecturer Carlos Villarreal said.
De La Fuente’s artist talk will be held from 3 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the TAMUK Little Theater followed by the reception from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Ben Bailey Art Gallery.