Paloma Vianey: Juárez Lindo y Querido

Hylton Performing Arts Center, Buchanan Partners Art Gallery

Feb
20

Tuesday, February 20–Saturday, April 7

Juárez Lindo y Querido showcases selections from artist Paloma Vianey’s Chamarra Series, paintings portraying her home city, Ciudad Juárez. Using painting as a practice of healing and care, this series explores the artist’s relationship to the vulnerable but resilient city situated on the Mexico border.

Vianey’s process begins with photographing the city. In gathering images and impressions, she searches for vernacular and often overlooked buildings that have witnessed both violence or evoke a sense of the community, including colorful old houses, neighborhood tortillerías, local businesses, and other structures. Vianey then uses the photographs as models for her paintings, attempting to depict the urban landscape with honesty and hope.

Each scene is painted on canvas overlaid by a chamarra (the Mexican word for jacket) which provides a vivid layer of color and a metaphorical layer or care. Moreover, the painted chamarra imply a body, literally making the places personal. They poetically embody empathy, suggesting the way we are forever imprinted by our surroundings while demanding that viewers hold space in their hearts for the victims of the city's incessant violence.

Learn more about the artist: palomavianey.com/