Dos Colectivos: Prints from La Curtiduría and Art Division
USC Fisher Museum of Art
February 27 – April 6, 2018
Opening: Sunday, February 25, 1-4 pm
Dos Colectivos: Prints from La Curtiduría and Art Division is not just a single, isolated exhibition, but rather another link in a growing chain of projects we have worked on together over the years. That chain began with Demián Flores’ and Dan McCleary’s one person exhibitions at the Fisher Museum more than a decade ago. And, it has become longer and stronger due to the affiliations Fisher has with both La Curtiduría and Art Division, the dos colectivos founded by Demián Flores and Dan McCleary respectively.
Art Division began in 2010 as a center for talented young art students, ages 18 to 26. It has fostered new artistic voices from immigrant communities, especially those near its location in the MacArthur Park area. Art Division offers classes and workshops in painting, drawing, art history and other disciplines to underserved youth. In 2011 it created its own print studio with the help of Fernando Sandoval from Taller de Grabado, an etching studio in Oaxaca. Work done by La Curtiduría and at the Taller de Grabado in Mexico as well as La Curtiduría has had a considerable influence on Art Division, as has the existence of the library at IAGO, the Instituto de Artes Gráficos de Oaxaca—the Graphic Arts Institute of Oaxaca.
La Curtiduría is also an independent, self-governed, non-profit space. It was founded by Demián Flores in 2006 Oaxaca during the teachers’ demonstrations that shook the Mexican government. La Curtiduría was born out of a strong public and political position against the violence and repression unleashed by the political administration of Oaxaca. La Curtiduría has now become an important site for contemporary artistic production and has consistently enhanced its role as a place for dialogue, participation, exchange, and education, serving over 150,000 people over the years. Indeed, it has become a reference point for all Mexican independent artistic spaces.
Dos Colectivos, the exhibition, is intended to help break down perceived artistic barriers between our two countries. It includes work from both La Curtiduría and Art Division, with each organization showing prints by visiting artists, faculty and students. By showing and sharing space for these prints, by developing residencies to share the spaces of production, by publishing catalogues documenting all this, Fisher Museum hopes to build on the strong triadic relationship between Art Division, La Curtiduría and Fisher itself.