Croppings: The Casta Paintings

Through September 8, 2018 at the Schneider Museum of Art in Ashland

Originally from Colombia, Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez came to the United States as an adult, an experience that is central to the themes of her work. “My practice is a bicultural and transcultural experience,” she writes. “[It] speaks of difference and opposites.” Her exhibit Casta Paintings, which is being shown through September 8 at the Schneider Museum of Art, does just this by examining the blending of cultures and the complex experiences and identities that result. The works in the exhibit draw on techniques and imagery of both the Spanish Colonial era and today, exploring the continuing imbalance in the conversation between cultures that results from migration and colonization. The title refers to the caste—or casta—paintings made by eighteenth-century Mexican artists depicting the racial class system of Spanish colonial rule. The exhibit includes Friedemann-Sánchez’s own take on these casta paintings: lifesize multi-media human forms with symbols of modern and colonial racial categorization. Friedemann-Sánchez challenges viewers of her art to consider the hybrid cultures all around us that shape our identities and experiences. 

Through September 8, 2018 at the Heiter Gallery at Schneider Museum of Art, 555 Indiana St., Ashland, sma.sou.edu

Tags

Art and Music, Race

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Croppings: The Casta Paintings