Craft in America will focus on the work of three individual artists who use craft to articulate messages about American culture, personal experiences, Latino identity and the ever-mutating socio-political tensions that exist in Los Angeles and California as a whole.
THREADS episode Consuelo Jimenez Underwood segmentCraft in America
CONSUELO JIMENEZ UNDERWOOD
Consuelo Jimenez Underwood is most well known for her textiles and installation work which represents her own history as a migrant agricultural worker, signifying her hybrid culture as well as the arbitrary lines that divide her homes. Artistic expression is deeply tied to traditional Huichol weaving, a heritage she incorporates into her large mixed media textiles. Borders and barriers are the vocabulary she uses to describe and celebrate the lives of migrant workers and indigenous people who are marginalized and downtrodden.
Mother Rain Rebozo (2017) by Consuelo Jimenez UnderwoodCraft in America
Underwood taught at San Jose State University. She received her BA and MA from San Diego State University and MFA from San Jose State University. Her work is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Oakland Museum of Art.
Reboso (in progress) (2017) by Consuelo Jimenez UnderwoodCraft in America
Reboso (in progress) (2017) by Consuelo Jimenez UnderwoodCraft in America
Reboso (in progress) (2017) by Consuelo Jimenez UnderwoodCraft in America
Undocumented Border Flowers (2010) by Consuelo Jimenez UnderwoodCraft in America
Gerardo Monterrubio on his workCraft in America
GERARDO MONTERRUBIO
Gerardo Monterrubio’s work is influenced by murals, prison tattoos, graffiti art and old etchings. His complex narratives explore the dark corners of the Mexican immigrant experience and LA’s tough contemporary street culture. Gerardo Monterrubio was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. After obtaining a BFA in Ceramic Arts from California State University, Long Beach, he received his MFA from UCLA and currently teaches at Long Beach City College.
Eduardo Arellano Felix by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
GERARDO MONTERRUBIO
El trabajo de Gerardo Monterrubio está influenciado por murales, tatuajes de prisión, arte de grafiti y grabados antiguos. Sus narrativas complejas exploran los oscuros rincones de la experiencia de inmigración mexicana y la cultura callejera hostil contemporánea de Los Ángeles. Gerardo Monterrubio nació en Oaxaca, México. Después de obtener la licenciatura en Cerámica Artística en la Universidad Estatal de California, Long Beach, obtuvo la maestría en Bellas Artes de la Universidad de California en Los Ángeles. Actualmente da clases en Long Beach City College.
Eduardo Arellano Felix (detail) by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Eduardo Arellano Felix (detail) (2) by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Eduardo Arellano Felix (detail) by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Eduardo Arellano Felix (back) by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Juquila by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Scooby WS White Fence LS by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Scooby WS White Fence LS by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Scooby WS White Fence LS by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
De Mala Muerte by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
De Mala Muerte (detail) by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
De mala muerte (detail) by Gerardo MonterrubioCraft in America
Glass artist Jaime Guerrero on his life size glass refugee children and pinataCraft in America
JAIME GUERRERO
Jaime Guerrero was born and lives in Los Angeles, California. He began his studies at California College of Art and Crafts (Oakland, CA), then attended the Pilchuck School of Glass (Stanwood, WA) and studied with Venetian glass artists Checco Ongaro, Pino Signoretto, and studio glass pioneer Benjamin Moore. He has been nominated for the Corning Award, has received two Saxe Fellowship Awards (2006/2012), and the People's Choice Award (2012) through the Bay Area Glass Institute (San Jose, CA) for a piece now residing in the Oakland Museum Of California. In 2013, the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN) gave him his first solo exhibition of Torpor .
Child (2017) by Jaime GuerreroCraft in America
Jaime skillfully crafts the ethereal transparent medium of glass to mirror human experience and focuses on the subject matter that would normally remain mute, addressing issues of social inequality and the need for change, often focusing on urban and Latino culture. For several years, in addition to his studio practice, he has helmed a glassblowing program for at-risk youth in South Central Los Angeles.
Child (detail) (2017) by Jaime GuerreroCraft in America
His current work embraces the juxtaposition between ancient ideas and contemporary symbols.
Child (2017) by Jaime GuerreroCraft in America
Child with Stick (2017) by Jaime GuerreroCraft in America
Child with Stick (detail) (2017) by Jaime GuerreroCraft in America
All images courtesy of the artists
