Artists Space

Radical Localism:
Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo’s Mexicali Rose

March 31 – May 27, 2012

Artists Space is pleased to announce a survey of work from Mexicali Rose, a community media center and gallery in the Mexican border city Mexicali.

A man spray paints a large piece of abstract blue graffiti against a white city wall below a graphic emblem of an eagle. The street is dark, but he is illuminated by the flash of the camera.
Jose Miguel Salcido, Sin Titulo (Nhsr), 2009. [A man spray paints a large piece of abstract blue graffiti against a white city wall below a graphic emblem of an eagle. The street is dark, but he is illuminated by the flash of the camera.]

The exhibition features a wide range of work from Mexicali Rose, including experimental and documentary films produced by the workshop; photographs and collages by Mexicali-based, international artists Pablo Castaneda, Carlos Coronado and Julio Torres; photographs by documentarians Rafael Veytia and Odette Barajas and Zeta journalist Sergio Haro, and an original mural created by Fernando Corona.

A nexus for cultural and personal exchange between artists, journalists, activists and filmmakers on both sides of the border, Mexicali Rose exemplifies the possibilities of 21st century hybridized culture through its pursuit of artistic expression grounded in barrio life. The work of the center has been recently featured in Artforum, May Revue, Mexico City’s Generacion, and media throughout Baja California.

Founded by Mexicali-born filmmaker Marco Vera in 2007 as an audio-visual workshop for neighborhood kids in border-adjacent Pueblo Nuevo, the workshop quickly expanded to include craft and trade classes, a community gallery exhibiting the work of local and international artists, a cinema club that showcases the work of Mexican and foreign filmmakers, and a radio station formed to provide a free and uncensored platform for local youth.

Concurrent with the exhibition, Artists Space presented the symposium The City Machine and Its Streets: Anomalous Ecologies on March 31-April 1, featuring conversations between renowned Mexico City writer and journalist Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez, Los Angeles writer and journalist Ben Ehrenreich, Zeta journalist Sergio Haro and Marco Vera, hosted by writer Chris Kraus.

Six artworks are mounted to a white gallery wall. On the far left and right are three black and white compositions, followed by a photograph of the back of a walking figure. At the center are two colorful, abstract compositions on paper.
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Six artworks are mounted to a white gallery wall. On the far left and right are three black and white compositions, followed by a photograph of the back of a walking figure. At the center are two colorful, abstract compositions on paper.]
Four gallery walls sit at various angles in a bright-lit exhibition space. One of the walls is decorated with colorful vertical stripes. Another wall is covered in many small, square grid-like compositions. A wall at the photograph
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Four gallery walls sit at various angles in a bright-lit exhibition space. One of the walls is decorated with colorful vertical stripes. Another wall is covered in many small, square grid-like compositions. A wall at the photograph's center is decorated with a composition of abstract, smooth shapes and various figures rendered in black and white.]
Two white walls are suspended on six vertical poles and are arranged so that they form a right corner. A large grid-like composition composed of many small squares is mounted on the left wall. On the right wall there are many photographs and printed video stills either mounted in grid patterns or one above the other.
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Two white walls are suspended on six vertical poles and are arranged so that they form a right corner. A large grid-like composition composed of many small squares is mounted on the left wall. On the right wall there are many photographs and printed video stills either mounted in grid patterns or one above the other.]
A large, rectangular wall is suspended at the center of three vertical poles in a bright room. The wall is covered in abstract, smooth and multicolored shapes. Amongst the shapes there are several figures of different ages and dress performing different tasks. One raises his fist in the air. Two identical looking boys stare at the viewer. Another figure wears a hat with rabbit ears.
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [A large, rectangular wall is suspended at the center of three vertical poles in a bright room. The wall is covered in abstract, smooth and multicolored shapes. Amongst the shapes there are several figures of different ages and dress performing different tasks. One raises his fist in the air. Two identical looking boys stare at the viewer. Another figure wears a hat with rabbit ears.]
Three photographs are mounted next to one another on a colorful gallery wall, which is covered with a photo decal of a mosaic. Each of the photographs show different urban walls covered in grafitti. Graffiti on a city wall shown in the far right photograph reads, "pueblo nueva."
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Three photographs are mounted next to one another on a colorful gallery wall, which is covered with a photo decal of a mosaic. Each of the photographs show different urban walls covered in grafitti. Graffiti on a city wall shown in the far right photograph reads, "pueblo nueva."]
Four clusters of photographs are mounted on a white gallery wall. Some of the photographs are black and white, while others are in color. All show images of a single or groups of figures. On the far right, a small projection of a man in a white shirt illuminates the wall.
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Four clusters of photographs are mounted on a white gallery wall. Some of the photographs are black and white, while others are in color. All show images of a single or groups of figures. On the far right, a small projection of a man in a white shirt illuminates the wall.]
Two video monitors are mounted on a colorful gallery wall covered with a photo decal of large, white letters and a ram
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez. [Two video monitors are mounted on a colorful gallery wall covered with a photo decal of large, white letters and a ram's head. Four stools sit in front of the monitors. A pair of headphones rests on each stool, connected to the monitors.]
In a large, open gallery space, several photographs hang on walls to the right. To the left, multiple small monitors mounted to a colorful gallery wall play video works. In front of the monitors, there are wooden stools with headphones resting upon them.
Radical Localism: Art, Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose. Installation view, Artists Space, 2012. Photo: Daniel Pérez.. [In a large, open gallery space, several photographs hang on walls to the right. To the left, multiple small monitors mounted to a colorful gallery wall play video works. In front of the monitors, there are wooden stools with headphones resting upon them.]

Radical Localism Exhibition Booklet

Cordero, Sergio Haro. "La lírica de Mexicali Rose, localismo radical en Nueva York," Zeta. March 23-29, 2012. Print. 13B-14B.

Cotter, Holland. "Radical Localism: Art Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose," The New York Times. May 25, 2012. Print. C25.

Cruz, Araceli. "Rebel Town: Media center from the South gets its debut back East," The Village Voice. March 31, 2012. Print. 21.

Kraus, Chris and Hedi El Kholti. "Influences," Frieze. No. 148. June-July-August 2012. Print. 162-167.

Trujillo, Gabriel. "De Mexicali a Nueva York," La Crónica. March 29, 2012. Print.

"Radical Localism: Art Video and Culture from Pueblo Nuevo's Mexicali Rose," The New Yorker. May 7, 2012. Print. 9.

Supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and The Friends of Artists Space.

    Low res image of two men, with tan skin and curly hair, kissing profusely.
    Julio Torres, Search Results: Drunks Kissing, 2010. [Low res image of two men, with tan skin and curly hair, kissing profusely.]