Call for womxn artists for upcoming gallery exhibition at the Pain Sugar Gallery in downtown Riverside titled,
This is How They Keep
We are seeking guest womxn artists, especially from the Inland Empire region (Riverside, Chino, Perris, Fontana, Hemet etc.), to submit artwork that responds to the following quote:
Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger.
This is how they keep.
(Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street 1984, Ch. 29, p. 74)
In dialogue with this quote, this exhibition seeks to explore the places in which some womxn may not inherently belong or feel a sense of belonging. Yet despite this sense of difference and alienation there is a resistance and persistence that fuels growth and prosperity. Much like a tree with roots that grow deep in a city of concrete, we are looking for womxn artists who create work that stand firm in their power and voice despite the strains and pains of the society that engulfs them.
This exhibition is co-curated by the Los Angeles based artist, Maritza Torres, and the Southern Califas based art historian and curator, Marissa Del Toro.
Maritza Torres is best known for her graphic style artwork and portrayal of the empowered woman. Her work translates the emotions of longing for an unknown past into visual art. Merging the different layers of identity that have created her reality is the main focus of her current work. She is currently based out of Los Angeles and just closed her second sola show at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights.
Marissa Del Toro graduated with an MA in Art History from the University of Texas at San Antonio, with an overall focus on the modern and contemporary art of Latin American, Latinx, and US artists. Her current research involves the artistic representation and framework of Latinx identity through zine production. Currently, Del Toro is working at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.