Coagula Curatorial Art Gallery in Los Angeles will present the Border Bang 2 art show from October 20 to December 30, featuring original new and bootlegged art works created or curated by artist, animator, writer and director Jorge R. Gutiérrez (The Book of Life, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera).
In Border Bang 2, Gutiérrez continues his love letter to the cultural collisions born of the Tijuana/U.S. border, rendering his own version of the bootleg items hawked to tourists and locals alike:
Re-appropriating the bombardment of pop culture images is the border’s reaction to global issues and events. In cultural spaces marked by hybridity, viewers and consumers know not to glorify the political but rather to acknowledge its cultural impact through subversive presentation.
In an era where cultural appropriation policing has become a favored virtue signaling strategy, Gutiérrez remind us that artistic inspiration can come from anywhere and should be open to anyone.
The exhibition is a follow-up to Gutiérrez’s debut solo show at Gregorio Escalante Gallery in 2016, and will feature art pieces and an altar dedicated to the late Greg Escalante in tribute. The works created by Gutiérrez for the show will be published in a hardcover Border Bang book coming from Cernunnos — a signing at the Coagula Curatorial is slated for Sunday, Oct. 21 from 2-5 p.m.
The five other exhibiting artists are:
- Sandra Equihua – Emmy-winning artist for El Tigre and The Book of Life born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico.
- Gerald De Jesus – Emmy-winning artist for El Tigre and Teen Titans Go! Art Center grad. Born and raised in the U.S./Mexico border.
- Robot Soda – Art directed campaigns for Pepsi and Nike, illustrated children’s books and toy design. Born and raised in the U.S./Mexico border.
- Raul The Third – Pura Belpre award-winning illustrator of Lowriders to the Center of the Earth. Raised in the border town of El Paso/Juarez, he made his way north with his wife Elaine Bay and makes his home in the Boston area.
- Alfredo Echeverria Ripstein – Mexican artist living in LA. Jorge and Alfredo collaborated on a series of Bootleg homage paintings for the show.
Border Bang 2 will open with an artists’ reception on Oct. 20 from 5-9 p.m.
Visit coagulacuratorial.com for more information.
