Latino artists shine this summer in ‘Our America’
The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley will celebrate the creativity of Latino artists by presenting “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art,” a major collection of modern and contemporary Latino art on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Opening on Sunday, June 26, and continuing through Oct. 2, the exhibition presents 89 works by 71 artists who participated in various artistic styles and movements. Fifth Street will be closed in front of the museum on opening day as Hector Rosado y Orquesta Haché performs outside while inside the museum admission is free noon to 4 p.m. A panel discussion with “Our America” artists happens at 1 p.m., and free tours in both English and Spanish are led starting at 2 p.m.
Artists featured in the exhibition — which begins in Trexler Hall and continues upstairs in Scheller, Rodale, and Fowler Galleries — reflect the rich diversity of Latino communities in the United States, including those of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican descent as well as other Latin American groups with deep roots here. By presenting works by artists of different generations and regions, the exhibition reveals recurring themes among Latino artists. For complete details of the exhibition, go to www.AllentownArtMuseum.org and click on the Our America banner.
Artists featured in the exhibition are ADÁL, Manuel Acevedo, Elia Alba, Olga Albizu, Carlos Almaraz, Jesse Amado, Asco (Harry Gamboa Jr., Gronk, Willie Herrón and Patssi Valdez), Luis Cruz Azaceta, Myrna Báez, Guillermo Bejarano, Charles “Chaz” Bojórquez, María Brito, Margarita Cabrera, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Melesio “Mel” Casas, Leonard Castellanos, Oscar R. Castillo, José Cervantes, Enrique Chagoya, Roberto Chavez, Carlos A. Cortéz, Marcos Dimas, Ricardo Favela, Christina Fernandez, Teresita Fernández, iliana emilia garcía, Rupert García, Scherezade García, Carmen Lomas Garza, Ignacio Gomez, Ken Gonzales-Day, Hector González, Luis C. “Louie the Foot” González, Muriel Hasbun, Ester Hernandez, Judithe Hernández, Carmen Herrera, Carlos Irizarry, Luis Jiménez, Miguel Luciano, Emanuel Martinez, María Martínez-Cañas, Antonio Martorell, Ana Mendieta, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Delilah Montoya, Malaquias Montoya, Abelardo Morell, Jesús Moroles, Raphael Montañez Ortiz, Pepón Osorio, Amado M. Peña Jr., Chuck Ramirez, Paul Henry Ramirez, Sophie Rivera, Arturo Rodríguez, Freddy Rodríguez, Joseph Rodríguez, Frank Romero, Emilio Sánchez, Juan Sánchez, Jorge Soto Sánchez, Rafael Soriano, Ruben Trejo, Jesse Treviño, John M. Valadez, Alberto Valdés and Xavier Viramontes.
An audio tour of select works in Our America is available online at www.OurAmerica.gallery or by phone at 610-628-2232.
An exhibition catalog is available in the Museum Store for $40 and includes essays by scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto and curator E. Carmen Ramos.
For updates and images from the show, follow the Museum on Twitter and Instagram (#OurAmerica) at @AtownArtMuseum and on Facebook at AllentownArtMuseum.