By Cori Anderson – 303Magazine.com – Photo: Justin Favela.
Photo: “La Cañada de Metlac, after José María Velasco”.
The artist with work on display is Justin Favela, who was raised in Las Vegas but considers himself a Guatemalan-Mexican-American. His resume consists of a lengthy list of exhibitions and events, including a site-specific installation at the Denver Art Museum in 2017 as part of the Mi Tierra: Contemporary Artists Explore Place series. It was at that installation that local gallerist David B. Smith discovered a passion for Favela and his politically-charged and aesthetically-pleasing work — leading to the current showcase, Re/Presenting Mexico: José Maria Velasco and the Politics of Paper. This exhibition showcased 14 individual piñata paintings that are all modeled from famous late-nineteenth-century Mexican nationalist paintings by José María Velasco.
