Favianna Rodriguez displays her work at the Joyce Gordon Gallery in Amor Fati.

Over the years, Joyce Gordon has built up a reputation for showing bold art at her gallery. If you want to better understand what we’re talking about, stop by the Joyce Gordon art gallery to check out the new show. Amor Fati (Love of Fate) showcases the artwork of celebrated local artists known for their creativity and in some cases, also for their political art and advocacy.

The show’s curator is Lian Ladia, who is also Joyce Gordon’s curatorial assistant. She wanted to put together a show of artworks that were visually similar, and had a similar history, too. “The work has a lot to do with the parallel side of history and progress,” she says. “This may include politics, chaos, and may include passion.”




Malaquias Montoya’s silk-screens, posters and sketches (above) reflect themes of injustice, empowerment and international struggle. Montoya, a Professor Emeritus at the department of Art at University of California, Davis, is credited with being a forerunner in the social serigraphy movement in Chicana/o art and has shown his work across the country. 

Carlos Villa is an internationally recognized painter whose art explores cultural diversity -- and pushes the edges of our understanding of it.  



Favianna Rodriguez is known for her politically-charged artwork, which often channels the aesthetic associated with graffiti art. Rodriguez, a printmaker and digital artist, is a big believer in using art in civic engagement. Her window installation is one of the highlights of Amor Fati.

 

Miju is a fascinating duo made up of Michele Muennig & Juan Carlos Quintana. Their edgy art is the result of a process that involves going back and forth with their work. One artist starts the piece, the other continues – adds, subtracts, and sends it back – and so it goes on.

"The current working style of Miju came about by chance. As we are both artists, we began passing our works in progress back and forth to see what happened," says Michele Muennig. "We agreed from the beginning that we would leave it wide open to chance – either person was allowed to erase or change anything at free will, without the consent of the other person. The theme and imagery has been left wide open."

Ladia says this show is not about political art. “Amor fati means love of fate,” she says. “It’s an attitude which sees everything happening, even suffering and loss, as good.”

What’s good comes with a dash of humor, too. Go down to the basement to see the cheeky work of Mel Vera Cruz. “There are layers and layers of paintings on the wall, suggesting the disposability of materials and having humor in disposability of materials,” she says.” It’s a decade of his work that he put in the installation. His intent is he tries to make fun of and destroy tradition in art making.”

Amor Fati runs through February 8. Opening reception: Friday, January 8, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th Street, joycegordongallery.com

To see images from the show on Flickr, click here.