Object Details
Artist
Carlos Almaraz, born Mexico City, Mexico 1941-died Los Angeles, CA 1989
Exhibition Label
Almaraz was a pioneering Chicano artist who produced art for the United Farm Workers Union and cofounded Los Four, one of the earliest Chicano collectives. A later shift to expressionistic painting and graphics brought him national recognition. By the 1980s, his non-narrative images of Los Angeles addressed both his cultural affiliations and sense of isolation with living with AIDS. Night Magic (Blue Jester), inspired by velvet paintings sold on the U.S.-Mexico border, represents urban Los Angeles exploding with sensuous colors and populated by shadows suggestive of Almaraz’s lonely alter egos.
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gloria Werner
Copyright
© 1988, Carlos Almaraz Estate
Date
1988
Object number
2011.12
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
54 x 54 in. (137.2 x 137.2 cm) framed
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Cityscape\time\night
Figure\nude
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2011.12