La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art From Guadalajara
Explore Guadalajara's growing contemporary art scene
Installation view of La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art From Guadalajara (2022-09-23/2023-01-09) by Cynthia Gutiérrez, Francisco Ugarte, Jose Dávila, Octavio Abúndez, and Eduardo Sarabia Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
La casa que nos inventamos was on view in the Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery from Sept. 23, 2022, to Jan. 9, 2023.
"The House That We Invented"
In recent decades, Guadalajara's artists have built upon its rich cultural history to become a leading hub of contemporary architecture, design, cuisine, literature, and visual art. The artists in the exhibition contributed to that growth.
Installation view of La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art From Guadalajara (2022-09-23/2023-01-09) by Francisco Ugarte, Gonzalo Lebrija, and Cynthia Gutiérrez Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Drawing with steel
Francisco Ugarte transformed industrial steel into a precise, minimalist form that invites quiet contemplation. Rooted in his architectural background, the sculpture played with space, light, and perception—turning raw material into a drawing in air.
Installation view of La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art From Guadalajara (2022-09-23/2023-01-09) by Julieta Beltran Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Julieta Beltrán’s visual vocabularies
Julieta Beltrán’s paintings were based on memories and family photographs that are turned into pictorial vocabularies. Her works explore the diverse ways we piece together personal narratives.
Installation view of La casa que nos inventamos: Contemporary Art From Guadalajara (2022-09-23/2023-01-09) by Carmen Huizar and Julieta Beltrán Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
A collection of the abstract
Carmen Huizar walked the streets of her hometown, Colotlán, Jalisco, searching for shapes and colors that echo the abstract language of early twentieth-century Western art.
By reproducing the pictorial elements of this small Mexican town with little access to the art historical canon, Huizar's artworks raised compelling questions about access and validation.
From the ground up
Jorge Méndez Blake’s mural on the back wall drew from Casa Franco, a house in Guadalajara designed by Luis Barragán. Focusing on its distinctive checkerboard floor, Méndez Blake translated the pattern into drawings and this striking wall piece.
Franco House Floor I-IV / Piso Casa Franco I-IV (2018) by Jorge Méndez Blake Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
The artist's process of translation—of floor pattern to drawing and wall mural—reflected his skill in subtly shifting margins to the center.
A Utopian History of Humanity / Una historia utópica de la humanidad (2019) by Octavio Abúndez Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Whose utopia?
Octavio Abúndez's work parsed history through the concept of utopia. The 256 canvases displayed excerpts culled from a range of disciplines, including literature, science, religion, cinema, law, and spirituality.
A foundation for the future
Alejandro Almanza Pereda's sculpture was a symbol of arid rural Mexico cast in concrete and rebar. The ghostly sculpture gestures toward the past and future and questions the foundations of both.
Máquina - Organismo / Machine - Organism (2020) by Zazil Barba Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
A site-specific sculpture
Zazil Barba's sculpture was made of, and for, its environment and site, occupying several locations throughout the building with materials gathered nearby.
Constelacion Naciente / Rising Constellation (2015) by Isa Carrillo Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Ghost in the stars
Artist Isa Carrillo, an ardent believer in the occult, presented the "ghost" of Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco's hand, rematerialized as a constellation. The triptych "depicted" the muralist through mysticism—an interest shared by Orozco and Carrillo—and science.
Cruz roja (2022) by Claudia Cisneros Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Interacting in the public sphere
At the exhibition's opening, female performers interacted with tiles and newspaper flowers, their bodies and gestures transforming items historically associated with a male-dominated sphere.
Economía del lenguaje / Economy of Language (detail) (2020) by Claudia Cisneros Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
After the performance of Cruz roja , the tiles and newspaper flowers formed Claudia Cisneros' installation. Economía del lenguaje suggests the importance of the public sphere in how we communicate and interact with one another.
The fact of constantly returning to the same point or situation (2021) by Jose Dávila Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
Precision and discord
Jose Dávila's paintings were balanced compositions made of discordant shapes. Drawing on his architectural training in mathematical precision, he offered a unique perspective on longstanding artistic tradition.
Have a picnic
Artist peach created this double-sided quilt for, and used it in, a series of performances in Guadalajara and OKC that invited participants to pause, engage, and self-reflect while picnicking. Afterward, some fragments of the encounters were embroidered on the quilt.
Freeze frame
Gonzalo Lebrija talked about his showstopping sculpture.
Limpieza karmática express / Karmic Cleansing Express (2019) by Renata Petersen Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
La casa que nos inventamos , which translates to “The house that we invented,” reflected on and responded to place — to the rich and complicated history, present, and future of a creative community.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.
