Gregorio Escalante Gallery in Los Angeles’s Chinatown neighborhood presents the first solo show of works by filmmaker, artist and CalArts alumnus Jorge R. Gutierrez (Film/Video MFA 00) on Saturday (July 9). Border Bang serves as an homage to the land between Tijuana, Mexico, and the United States, with Gutierrez playfully—and sometimes subversively—appropriating pop culture icons in his paintings.
For the show, Gutierrez looked to his own background and upbringing as a jumping-off point. Raised in Tijuana, the young Gutierrez traveled to the U.S. for elementary and middle school and saw all the knockoff tchotchkes and souvenirs that vendors peddled to tourists and residents.
From Gregorio Gallery:
Each day, he was dazzled and entranced by the objects being sold, creating alternative narratives to the cartoon characters and celebrity portraits that he saw. Border Bang is a reflection of his childhood narrative, using images from Mickey Mouse to Tupac Shakur to convey the reflections and meditations of global events as witnessed by the border, exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture.
The “portraits” in Border Bang are vibrant and colorful, reflective of the style that Gutierrez featured in his directorial feature debut, The Book of Life, as well as in his Nickelodeon series, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera.
The opening reception for Border Bang is on Saturday from 7-11 pm with live music by DJ Chucuchu. An artist talk at the gallery is scheduled for Sunday at 3 pm with Gutierrez. The works will remain on view through Aug. 14.
Related: The Book of Life Director Jorge Gutierrez Visits CalArts
Event Details
Jorge Gutierrez: 'Border Bang'
July 9-Aug. 14
Gregorio Escalante Gallery
978 Chung King Road, Los Angeles
Free
Opening reception on July 9 from 7-11 pm
Artist talk on July 10 at 3 pm