Rasquache refers to a melding of sensibilities, such as high and low class or folk and contemporary styles, with issues pertaining to pop culture, political activism and class struggle. The show’s title, “Razquache,” marks a specifically Chicagoan postmodern exploration of these issues by seven artists using found objects and materials at hand. The show includes works in a variety of mediums, from small diorama-memorials to large-scale paintings and installations. Curator Marcos Raya’s pieces are among these larger works. Drawing upon his previous experience as a muralist in Pilsen as well as the aesthetics of Mexican-style memorial shrines, Raya addresses political concerns such as war and drug trafficking through the use of painting, found objects and collaged imagery from popular culture. Among the other works of note in the show are Noelle Mason’s commissioned fiber-based works. “Janus (Workhorse)” includes a wool rug made in Mexico by Jose Antonio Flores and Jonathan Samaniego in exchange for the amount of money it would cost two people to illegally enter the U.S. The rug depicts a striking image of the U.S./Mexico border captured by satellite, illustrating the stark contrast in the land due to control of natural resources by irrigation. This show is worth the trip out to Columbus Drive. Catch an artists’ roundtable discussion at the gallery on Thursday, September 11 at 6pm. (Jamie Keesling)
Through October 3 at Betty Rymer Gallery, 280 S. Columbus
Related Stories
Repurposing AI: A Review of Stephanie Dinkins at Stamps Gallery While this show is timely for everyone, I consider its setting within a university art gallery and emerging tech hub like the city of Ann Arbor a subversive provocation which Dinkins invites the greater public—including members of the university community—to consider our own positionality to AI and technology.
Lost in Translation: A Review of Crip* at Gallery 400 The strongest works in the exhibition succinctly express the ways the artist relates to their own body while calling out how the artist’s body and body of work has been perceived or coded against norms or ideals.
