1 year ago
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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - When you locomotion into Andrea Cano Torres art studio, you're greeted with the odor of freshly burned sage and ample colorful paintings connected the wall, each an look of her identity.
Torres was calved successful Fresno, but passim her puerility she spent clip surviving successful Mexico successful Los Reyes, Michoacán.
For her, increasing up successful some the U.S. and Mexico came with its joys and its challenges each of which are represented successful her art.
“Life is ace achy astatine times, you know," said Torres. "I ever person things successful my paintings that poke, but they're truthful beauteous to look astatine and arsenic a first-gen kiddo, we acquisition chains and bloodstains. There is simply a heaviness of being the translator, being the fiscal person, and being the caput of household."
But the burdens of being a first-generation queer Chicana artist, turned into blessings. And erstwhile asked to showcase her latest enactment wrong of Moto Delicatessen and Bodega for Hispanic Heritage period she knew it was a bully fit.
"They asked maine if I was consenting to amusement and I thought don't know, similar I haven't shown successful years, but I had shown these pieces successful Sacramento and I thought to beryllium capable to amusement them successful my hometown would beryllium ace rad," said Torres. "I'm a instrumentality of this restaurant, I worked astatine Fresno High for years successful the past, truthful everything meshed truly good together."
The bid titled "Homecoming” is present connected display, inspired by the enactment of returning location to yourself and searching for identity.
Motivated by earthy creation and her brother, these 3 paintings were challenging, arsenic she stayed distant from her accustomed colorful pallet and alternatively utilized monochromatic techniques.
“My brother's been incarcerated astir of his life, truthful erstwhile helium would get out, helium would amusement maine however to shadiness with similar toilet insubstantial and helium showed maine however to bash similar realistic eyes and each successful similar pencil and pad, and I wanted to let's spell backmost to that," said Torres. "So I said let's spot what that would consciousness similar and I painted things that punctual maine of increasing up either successful Mexico oregon present successful the U.S that brings maine a batch of comfortableness and peace."
The archetypal coating successful this bid is simply a self-portrait surrounded by breached chains that correspond the generational cycles she had to break. It besides includes a butterfly to correspond migration, and the jaguar arsenic strength.
The full bid showcasing items that crushed her and supply comfortableness on with familiarity. Like the molcajete, a accepted Mexican stone, which for her represents grounding and is besides a sentimental point successful her location due to the fact that it belonged to her grandmother.
"They're decidedly similar the astir idiosyncratic pieces I've ever done," said Torres. I've been coating for rather immoderate time, and I bash a batch of commercial murals and enactment with clients. But present that I'm moving connected my master's and my portfolio, I truly was like, okay, what bash I privation to paint, what bash I privation to absorption on."
Andrea is present pursuing a master's grade successful workplace creation at Fresno State University.
Her enactment focuses connected rebirth, motherhood and play— portion acknowledging generational trauma and embracing her Chicana identity.
