“May flower” is one of the names given to the Plumeria Rubra, also known here as “Cacalosúchil”. It is a vivid flower with five petals and, as it’s nickname implies, it starts blooming during the month of May. The fifth month of the year not only brings colourful flowers that ornament the city, but it also brings a large selection of art exhibitions that do justice to its beautiful traditions. Following are five exhibitions we recommend to encourage you to go out and take a walk through Oaxaca City, and its May flowers.
INFLEXIÓN
COLLECTIVE
Obra: Abril Salgado · Foto: Cortesía Tingladography
Tingladography is a space distinguished by its Mexican photography intervention exhibitions, usually created by artists based in Oaxaca. Nonetheless, time came for painting to enter its doors and they recently opened their first painting exhibition. With the title: Inflection (thirteen artists form here and there) it displays works of artists from different nationalities.
Some of the artists that participate in this collective exhibition are: Abril Salgado, Carolina Castañeda, Sonia Caraballo, Ramon Sanmiquel, Cesar Martinez, Bayrol Jimenez, Greta Pruneda, George Mead Moore, Roger Benetti, Alexis Escobar, among others and they come from Mexico, Spain, Italy and the U.S.A. Their pieces can be seen and acquired until the end of May.
Tingladography
García Vigil 212 ,Centro, Oaxaca
Open every day from 5-9pm
Facebook: @Tingladography
BESTIA HUMANA
OSCAR CAMILO DE LAS FLORES
Foto: Detalle de obra: El orígen del mezcal · Foto: Rafael E. Lozano
Oscar Camilo de las Flores (Santa Ana, El Salvador, 1974) is an outstanding Canadian artist, migrant, and son of two Salvadorans. He currently lives in Oaxaca, where he has been for more than a decade. “Bestia Humana“ or “Human Beast” is a journey of more than twenty years through his artistic career, and his perspective of everything that dehumanises. The exhibition displays a total of 60 pieces that range from lithography and serigraphy, to oil and ink.
Upon entering the exhibition one quickly becomes aware of some of the hallmarks of his work: The expression of bodies and the saturation are, perhaps, the most immediate features. However, Miguel Vives Lorenzini says: “De las Flores addresses various themes through satire and black humor, his work runs between the sublime and the grotesque (…) This saturation is not a whim, it is given from a deeply intellectualised discourse. This discourse develops non-linear narratives, through visual narrative, that can be reinterpreted through multiple angles.” “Human Beast” opened on May 4 at IAGO Alcalá and can be visited throughout the month for free.
Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) Alcalá
Macedonio Alcalá 507, Centro, Oaxaca
Open Wednesday to Monday 9:30am to 8pm
Facebook: @IAGOmx
IN THE DARK
SAM GARDNER
Foto: Cortesía Espacio Centro
Espacio Centro is an independent cultural space inaugurated in 2015. It recently celebrated its third anniversary, hosting an exhibition of more than 60 posters (each corresponding to one of the cultural activities developed since then). “In The Dark” is its most recent exhibition. Opened on April 27 it is composed of engraving and silkscreen pieces created by Sam Gardner. This exhibition can be visited until the end of May.
In addition, Sam is teaching free English classes aimed at cultural managers, artists and craftsmen, in Espacio Centro. The classes are given every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5 to 6pm and from 6 to 8pm. If you are interested you can you can contact him directly at: samjgardner@gmail.com
Espacio Centro
Boulevard Eduardo Vasconcelos #204 A, Centro, Oaxaca
Monday to Friday 5pm to 8pm (by appointment)
Facebook: @centroexhibe
CUCURRUCUCÚ
CRISTINA DE MIDDEL
Foto: Rafael Elizondo L.
Cristina de Middel was born in Alicante, Spain. Today she lives and works in Uruapan, Mexico. After ten years as a photographer, she currently devotes most of her efforts to conceptual works. In 2014 de Middel got involved with the photographic archive of the Alerta newspaper. She began to work with the idea of exploring the different languages of violence and what role photography played in that field.
Next she translated 200 photographs to drawing. She added dialog boxes with ranchera lyrics to each character, as if it were a comic strip. These ranchera lyrics claim actions and reactions in the name of love and passion, that are not always tender. The drawings and hundreds of photographs can be seen for free during the month of May at the Manuel Álvarez Bravo Photographic Center (CFMAB, by its initials in Spanish).
Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo
M. Bravo 116 Esq. García Vigil, Centro, Oaxaca
Wednesday to Monday 9.30am to 8pm
Facebook: @CFMAB
LIGA ESTATAL DEL ÉXITO
VICTOR MORTALES
Foto: Cortesía Córdoba Lab+Galería
Victor Mortales reflects upon photographs of sporting success and what they have meant to spectators over the years. He reviewed and selected 10 pictures from the photographic archive of Raúl Navarro (1934-2015) a sports photojournalist. The author invites us to analyse the symbols that each photograph frames – symbols of amateur football, triumph and victory and to compare these symbols with the way we represent them nowadays. Finally, he leaves us to draw our own conclusions out of this historical and pictorial comparison.
“Liga Estatal de Éxito” or “State League of Success” exhibits not only those 10 photographs, but also several installations that transport us to a classic 80’s Oaxacan amateur football game. This exhibition is also a tribute to Raúl Navarro and his vocation to promote sports journalism. The exhibition can be visited throughout the month in Córdoba Lab + Gallery.
Córdoba Lab+Galería
Manuel Bravo 313, Centro, Oaxaca
Monday to Friday 10am to 7pm
Facebook: @cordoba.lab
