{"id":68079,"date":"2025-09-16T18:35:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T18:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/68079\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T18:35:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T18:35:19","slug":"ucsb-museum-showcases-extensive-mexican-prints-garcia-correa-collection-local-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/68079\/","title":{"rendered":"UCSB Museum Showcases Extensive \u2018Mexican Prints: Garcia-Correa Collection\u2019 | Local News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gil Garcia is a community leader, known as an innovative architect, former Santa Barbara City Council<\/a> member and even a past Man of the Year.<\/p>\n

However, as a young child living among other families of Spanish-speaking migrant workers, he thought he lived in Mexico. It was Goleta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His father was a \u201ccampesino\u201d (migrant farmworker) who came to America after the Mexican Revolution, eventually settling not far from the Santa Barbara Airport<\/a> to work in local lemon, avocado and walnut groves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe campesinos are anonymous heroes \u2014 the lifeblood of our economy,\u201d Garcia said while sitting in his light-filled living room in Santa Barbara\u2019s Upper East neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The walls are covered with framed paintings and prints, and many more line the floor, propped against the walls. Sculptures are scattered on either side of the fireplace, and other cultural items fill the coffee table and shelves.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s but a portion of an extensive collection acquired over many years with his wife, Marti Correa de Garcia, also a child of campesinos.<\/p>\n

The focus is on works by Mexican artists that illustrate campesino values and culture, Mexican history and architecture, along with works that have a personal meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us sons and daughters of campesinos have achieved success here, once we overcame the cultural classes,\u201d he said. \u201cMarti and I were raised on core values of humility, honesty, teamwork and commitment to family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel that we owe it to them to gather art that reflects campesino and Mexican culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ana<\/p>\n

\t\tAna Briz, the UCSB museum\u2019s assistant director and curator of exhibitions, with several works by members of the TGP Collective on view in the exhibition \u201cMexican Prints: The Garcia-Correa Collection,\u201d including, clockwise from left, \u201cPaul Leroy Robeson\u201d by Leopoldo M\u00e9ndez, and two works by Fanny Rabel, \u201cEl beun ma\u00edz\u201d (\u201cThe Good Corn\u201d) and \u201cHambre\u201d (\u201cHunger\u201d). Credit: Julia McHugh \/ Noozhawk photo<\/p>\n

That feeling extends further, as the couple have made several donations of artwork to the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara<\/a>, with more to come.<\/p>\n

A new exhibit, \u201cMexican Prints: The Garcia-Correa Collection,\u201d showcasing 31 lithographs, etchings and linocuts, opened Saturday.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s promoted as a preview for a future comprehensive exhibition. Admission to the UCSB museum is free, but on-campus parking is $8. Visit museum.ucsb.edu<\/a> for hours and directions.<\/p>\n

Two new exhibits showcasing the museum\u2019s permanent collection are also on view.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Greeting visitors in the entry is \u201cSunflower\u201d (1970), one in a series focused on the yellow flower species painted by Joan Mitchell<\/a> during the last 20-plus years of her life. The single work comprises \u201cJoan Mitchell 100,\u201d commemorating the artist\u2019s centennial birthday.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn exhibition of Mexican prints donated by Gil Garcia and his wife, Marti Correa de Garcia, is on view through Dec. 7 at UCSB\u2019s Art, Design, & Architecture Museum as a \u201cpreview\u201d to a future comprehensive exhibit. Also on view is one of Joan Mitchell\u2019s series of sunflower paintings, in commemoration of the artist\u2019s 100th birthday. Credit: Julia McHugh \/ Noozhawk photo<\/p>\n

In the main gallery, \u201cBeyond the Object\u201d displays more than 20 recent acquisitions and gifts of paintings, sculpture, photography and works on paper. It represents the museum\u2019s expansion of its modern and contemporary art collection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The exhibit of the Garcias\u2019 donations is hard to miss. Look for a wall painted in the vivid color that exhibit curator Ana Briz calls \u201crosa Mexicano\u201d (\u201cMexican pink\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a reference to Mexican architect Luis Barrag\u00e1n, known for his use of vibrant, saturated colors,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s fitting, as Gil is also an architect, and the color appears in several of the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum recently acquired Barrag\u00e1n\u2019s papers.<\/p>\n

Hung against that vibrant backdrop are two lithographs by Emilio Amero<\/a> highlighted with pink washes: \u201cMuchacha pein\u00e1ndose el pelo\u201d (\u201cGirl Combing Her Hair,\u201d 1950) and \u201cVendedor de flores\u201d (\u201cFlower Merchant,\u201d 1958). Born in a small Mexican farming community, Amero later became a professor at the University of Oklahoma<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are having a Mexican mid-century modern moment here, spanning from the end of the Mexican Revolution through the 1980s,\u201d said Briz, the museum\u2019s assistant director and curator of exhibitions. \u201cIt was a time when artists came together after a political upheaval to use art to talk about history and societal changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artists worked together in collectives, studied with mentors and represented a generational shift in printmaking, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among the most influential was Taller de Gr\u00e1fica Popular (TGP, \u201cPeople\u2019s Graphic Workshop\u201d),\u00a0an artist-run printshop in Mexico City that began in 1937. TGP produced thousands of prints, posters, handbills, newspapers and books that depicted the daily lives, work and social realities of Mexicans at that time.<\/p>\n

\"GilGil Garcia at home among a portion of the extensive collection of artworks by Mexican artists that he and his wife, Marti Correra de Garcia, have collected. Thirty-one works are on view at the UCSB museum. Credit: Julia McHugh \/ Noozhawk photo<\/p>\n

\u201cThey understood how to utilize art to communicate an idea quickly,\u201d Briz said. \u201cPrintmaking has immediacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among its founders was Leopoldo M\u00e9ndez<\/a>, who was involved in anti-fascist and leftist politics of the day.<\/p>\n

Four of his works are on view, including the 1953 linocut \u201cLa carreta\u201d (\u201cThe Cart\u201d). TGP\u2019s initials appear in the lower left-hand corner.<\/p>\n

Muralist, painter and printmaker Fanny Rabel<\/a> was also a member. Born in Poland, her family immigrated to Mexico when she was a child.<\/p>\n

She later studied with Frida Kahlo, assisted muralist Diego Rivera and apprenticed with David Alfaro Siqueiros.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two of her works are hung together \u2014 the cheerful linocut \u201cEl buen ma\u00edz\u201d (\u201cThe Good Corn,\u201d 1959) from her portfolio \u201cNi\u00f1os de M\u00e9xico (\u201cChildren of Mexico\u201d) and the bleak \u201cHambre\u201d (\u201cHunger\u201d) from 1952.<\/p>\n

Siqueiros has three works in the exhibit, including \u201cBa\u00f1ista de Tehuantepec\u201d (\u201cTehuantepec Bather, 1931), inspired by imagery from Mexico\u2019s pre-Hispanic era.<\/p>\n

\"EmilioEmilio Amero\u2019s 1958 lithograph \u201cVendedor de flores\u201d (\u201cFlower Merchant\u201d) features a wash of \u201cMexican pink,\u201d a color used in several works on view in the UCSB museum exhibit \u201cMexican Prints: The Garcia-Correa Collection.\u201d Credit: UCSB photo<\/p>\n

A bolder shade of Mexican pink is prominent in Rufino Tamayo\u2019s<\/a> \u201cAffiche avante la lettre,\u201d a 1969 lithograph, but Briz noted that it\u2019s not in the same style as the exhibit\u2019s other items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is part of a later, larger movement in contemporary art, when artists were thinking about people and history in a different way,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The depth of the Garcias\u2019 collection is impressive, and they credit Rafael Perea de la Cabada<\/a> for helping guide them.<\/p>\n

They met the artist when he moved his studio to the garage of their previous home on Arrellaga Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was there for years and paid us in art,\u201d Correa de Garcia said. \u201cHe became our curator. We wanted pieces representative of the culture, and he knew what we liked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her husband added: \u201cSome of the collection will stay in the family, but most of it will go to UCSB. This fits with the campesino values of being in service to the community and helping others.\u201d<\/p>\n

A special reception celebrating the Garcia-Correa collection is set for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 at the museum. Mariachi Las Olas de Santa Barbara<\/a> will perform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gil Garcia is a community leader, known as an innovative architect, former Santa Barbara City Council member and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,19,17,3136],"class_list":{"0":"post-68079","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-local-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}