Nuevo León: Tres Generaciones Major Art Exhibition Commemorates Mexican Bicentennial at Arvada Center

September 15, 2010

To mark the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence and the centennial of Mexico’s revolution, the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities presents a major exhibition of paintings, Nuevo León, Tres Generaciones, three generations of artists from Nuevo León, a state in northeastern Mexico. This exhibition, generously arranged by the Consulate General of Mexico and the Mexican Cultural Center in Denver, is in the Main Gallery, September 16 to November 14, 2010, and is free and open daily to the public.

Featuring 21 artists and showing 61 works, Nuevo León, Tres Generaciones reveals the rich diversity, fashion, media, and techniques associated with a region in Mexico recognized for its modern creative expression. Stylistically, the paintings range from realism, to surrealism, to abstraction, to non-objective configurations—and thematically from portrait, to domestic scene, to land- and cityscape, to pure sensory response to design and color.

Herencia Milenaria, “thousand-year heritage,” the second exhibition at the Arvada Center presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico and Mexican Cultural Center in Denver, is a stunning exhibition of traditional and modern ceramics by artists from the city of Tonalá in the central Mexican state of Jalisco.

This exhibition features 90 jars, vessels, plates, figures, and figurines by 14 contemporary ceramicists who represent some of the finest work from the Tonalá tradition. Most are from families working in ceramaics continuously for multiple generations and hundreds of years. Tonalá ceramics have been historically recognized for their ornate and colorful embellishments that tell stories both real and fantastic.

To complement the Mexican art exhibitions, Raíces y Ramas/Roots and Branches, guest-curated by Denver artist Tony Ortega, features seven prominent Colorado Hispanic artists in addition to Ortega, all of whose works demonstrate Chicano values, social causes, and concerns. On display are drawings, paintings, and original prints. A majority of the artists featured are members of the Chicano Humanities & Arts Council (CHAC), which is supporting this exhibition through promotion and educational programming.

            Text and media presented in the three exhibitions is offered in English and Spanish, which includes the Arvada Center’s informative “Guide by Cell” audio program and the docent-led tours.

Fall Art Exhibitions, Arvada Center, September 16 to November 14, 2010, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday –Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, are free of charge.

Opening reception, Thursday, September 16, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Family activities, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Nuevo León:  Tres Generaciones, Man Gallery
Raíces y Ramas/ Roots and Branches, Upper Gallery

Herencia Milenaria:  Contemporary Ceramics from Tonalá, Jalisco, México, Theater Gallery

About the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities is one of the nation’s largest multidisciplinary arts centers, devoted to all aspects of the arts and generously supported by the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). For more information, visit www.arvadacenter.org.

Media Contact:  Janet Braccio   
Phone:720.898.7276

Email: jbraccio@arvadacenter.org