Tigers and Jaguars: LA's Asian-Latino Art Phenomenon

Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles
June 30 through October 29, 2006

The pioneering exhibition Tigers and Jaguars: LA's Asian-Latino Art Phenomenon opens on June 30, 2006 at the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM). Developed in collaboration with the Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture and CAFAM, Tigers and Jaguars examines the relationship and interaction between Asian and Latino communities through the expression of art and music. This exhibition will feature local artists such as Chaz Bojorquez, Richard Duardo, Linda Vallejo, and Bari Kumar, who have forged this uniquely Los Angeles-based phenomenon.

Tigers and Jaguars explores the evolution of cross-cultural, grass-roots experiences that occur between Latino and Asian communities. The artists included in this exhibition do not forsake their cultural traditions. Rather, they explore the meshing of ethnicity in development of visual and sonic hybrids by intermingling symbols and iconography from both Asian and Latino cultures. Curator Kathy Gallegos points out, "In an increasingly globalized world, these artists share a desire to bridge cultural borderlines and to create new multicultural modes of artistic expressions."

The artists exhibited include a self-taught street tagger as well as a university-trained fine artist influenced by Renaissance symmetry. Artist Richard Duardo creates prints that span a visual library from Mexican popular culture to Japanese portraiture. Chaz Bojorquez began his artistic trajectory as a graffiti artist in the streets and riverbeds of Los Angeles, and his signature style is influenced both by West Coast "Cholo" graffiti and by Asian calligraphy. Linda Vallejo has incorporated the Asian "mandala" into a new series of environmental and political installations. Painter Bari Kumar, born in India, creates works that combine images sampled from newspaper headlines, street art, art history, and the artist's personal travels.

"CAFAM is excited to host this unique exhibition that combines the sensibilities of two striking cultural communities. The resulting artwork represents the influence of diversity that occurs daily in our city, and this is an important exhibition for all Angelinos to see," says Maryna Hrushetska, Executive Director of CAFAM.

About The Craft and Folk Art Museum

The Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) is a Los Angeles nonprofit cultural arts organization dedicated to the public presentation and preservation of folk arts and contemporary craft. Founded in 1965, originally as "The Egg and The Eye" by the late Edith Wyle, who passionately promoted traditional artisans and the virtue of handmade art the Museum opened in 1973. As a local Museum with global reach, CAFAM seeks to promote international goodwill and global understanding among its citizens. The Museum works to preserve and strengthen the folk culture of our community based on its belief that the quality of urban life is directly related to the vitality and diversity of viewpoints and traditions. Visit their website at www.cafam.org.