BEYOND FRIDA: WOMEN ARTISTS OF NORTHWESTERN MEXICO
September 27–November 15, 1998
Curated by Kathy Kenyon and Olga Davila
This exhibition is the result of a collaboration between Oceanside Museum of Art and EI Centro Cultural, Tijuana . It is an exciting and diverse show that includes painting, photography, sculpture, assemblage, as well as an interactive installation piece entitled "The Flight" which invites the viewer to become an active participant.
The show features six women artists. Maria Romero's work explores a universal theme using the human figure as her vehicle of expression. Tania Candiani invites the viewer to climb into her vision, a journey of the world. Anna Maria Herrera explores the Mexican tradition of memorial photographs in her large scale photographic installation. Irma Sophia engages her viewers with The Ancestors, haunting totemic sculptures. Rossi Robles gives us a humorous look at the human head in her sculpture that utilizes found objects. The conceptual work of Monica Escutia rounds out the exhibition with a series of stark, yet elegant minimalist pieces.
Unfettered by those conventions and restrictions that women artists of the past have faced, these six artists have assembled impressive exhibition records both in Mexico and abroad. They have moved beyond Frida Kahlo's traditional methods of expression and explored a wider range of objectives, materials and techniques.