Contemporary Ex-Votos: Devotion Beyond Medium
a group exhibition that pairs 19–20th-century retablos from the New Mexico State University Art Museum’s Permanent Art Collection with new works by contemporary Latinx artists. New Mexico State University Art Museum, Gallery 400 at University of Illinois in Chicago
Este Signo Vino en Una Vision, 2023, Enamel on Day-glo paper
La Manifestación del Milagro de Isabela María Aguilar (In Three Parts), 2023, Vinyl, aluminum, channel posts, wood and sandbags
Archivo Común/Common Archive
In September 2023, Alberto Aguilar was on residency at the Pueblo Unido Gallery a student run art space at Centro Romero. Working with students in the youth program, Aguilar sourced the components for Archivo Común/Common Archive – an exhibition informed by the artist’s interest in the artistic possibilities and multiple meanings of everyday objects and gestures. The Archive acted as a document of Centro Romero, its advocacy on behalf of immigrant communities, and its role in the lives of the those it serves.
Instant Youth Mural (After Asco), 2023, Bodies of Centro Romero youth on wall with duct tape
Self Sufficiency, 2023, Box of donated shoes arranged in front of Centro Romero
Say Anything, 2023, Centro Romero youth holding signs made with acrylic on cardboard
Say Anything, 2023, Acrylic on cardboard
Say Anything (Louder), 2023, Cardboard signs made by Centro Romero youth translated by a sign painter with enamel on Day-glo paper affixed to the front facing windows of Pueblo Unido Gallery
YO SOY MUSEO
August 9, 2022 – February 26, 2023
Xicágo Gallery
National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL
Yo Soy Museo (I Am Museum) includes a series of self-portraits, a wall painting and an installation of objects sourced from the museum’s storage, walkways, archives and the Permanent Collection. The title refers to the artist’s body as a holder of objects and ideas as well as considering the role of museums and the objects they collect and accumulate. Chicago based artist Alberto Aguilar collaborated with the Museum staff and curators to raise the idea that everyone can be regarded as a museum that collects and preserves objects, information and memories.
Memoria Presente (Yo Soy Museo), 2022, Borrowed objects from museum’s clutter arranged in an altar-like fashion
Anti-Autoretratos (Yo Soy Museo), 2022, Inkjet print on adhesive vinyl
Monolith (In Memoriam)(Yo Soy Museo), 2022, Video cassettes brought to the museum by Cesar Chavez in 1993, as part of his initiative boycotting grapes in support of farm workers. He died six after this museum visit. They are arranged in a vitrine together with photos from the museum’s participation in National Day with Art in 1994, recognizing artists that died as a result of the AIDS pandemic.
Masquerade (Yo Soy Museo), 2022, Mask from museum collection over past exhibition poster purchased on clearance in museum store
Masquerade (Yo Soy Museo), 2022, Mask from museum collection over past exhibition poster purchased
Record of Labor (Yo Soy Museo), 2002-14, paint and masking tape balls created by Luis Martín Gamez, the museum facilities associate and in house painter salvaged from the trash and arranged in a vitrine
Land + History
As part of the 2023 Terrain Biennial a two part work on the facade of Bim Bom Studios based on the research and acknowledgement in the Land and History section of their website which speaks of the land that the building resides on, the history of the building and the origin of its name.
Land + History, 2023, Spray paint on vinyl banner
Land and History II, 2023, Tempera on paper
Land and History III, 2023, Spraypaint and acrylic on paper
09.11.2020, Traducción/ Translation, Enamel on paper, 36″x48″
09.11.2020, Tradición/ Tradition, Enamel on paper, 36″x48″
08.30.2020, (In) Between Out II, Mirror, mini blinds and houseplants.
08.14.2020, Monumental Acts, Enamel on paper
Quarantine Regimen 03.20.2020- 06.16.2020
At the onset of the stay at home order due to the 2020 global pandemic I set a rule for myself to make one work every day which would chronicle my time on quarantine. I posted each work daily on instagram @albert0aguilar making them virtually public. Here is a selection of those works starting with the most recent.
06.15.2020
05.31.2020, Six days later. Same flowers. Same place. Different shirt.
05.25.2020, Six days later. Same flowers. Same location. Different shirt.
05.20.2020, My father passed away in Phoenix, AZ on April 2, 2020. We attended his funeral virtually from our living room in Chicago. Today I drew him from memory with ball point pen on printer paper. I worked on it for the amount of minutes equivalent to years I knew him, which is my whole life.
05.19.2020, 6 days later. Same flowers. Same place. Different shirt.
05.17.2020, Because we could not have a conventional celebration my wife commissioned me to make a front yard sign to mark the graduation of my two daughters. I designed the sign and commissioned a sign painter to create this hand painted sign. My son helped my install the work in front of our home for all the neighbors to see.
05.13.2020
04.23.2020, I drew all my children by memory. I used ball point pen on printer paper and made each drawing in the number of minutes equivalent to their age. I drew them consecutively from oldest to youngest without taking a break. In total it took me an hour and thirteen minutes.
04.20.2020, For years I’ve been the testing ground for Isabella’s (daughter) make-up skills. Today I told her to push herself.
04.17.2020
04.16.2020, My son Joaquin cut his own hair so I asked him to give me something similar.
04.15.2020
04.13.2020
04.10.2020
04.09.2020
04.08.2020
03.29.2020
03.26.2020
Entre (Between), 2020, Chairs from the former Chicago Public Library (currently the Chicago Cultural Center) and doors from 6018north (the original site of this exhibition).
Entre (Between), 2020, Sign paint on vinyl. At Chicago Cultural Center for In Flux: Chicago Artists and Immigration.
Ruptura (Break Up), 10/17/19, Vinyl on glass of stylized broken windows in the shape of maps of Chicago and Havana. Installed at Artista X Artista in Havana, Cuba.
4-D², 10/06/2019, CDOT traffic paint applied with a 4″ roller on the driveway of Compound Yellow in Oakpark, IL.
Break Up, 10/03/2019, Sign paint on butcher paper in the windows of The Franklin in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL.
Echo Hecho Fresco, 09/01/2019, CDOT Traffic paint applied with a 4″ roller on under the Columbus Drive bridge of the Chicago River.
Línea Regular, 2019, Disassembled hand-painted party hats purchased while walking the streets of Havana, Cuba wheat pasted on the wall of the Smart Museum (University of Chicago) shown with framed photos taken on the same walks of lines made using material found on site.
Monolith, 2019, Winter clothing on column. For Alberto Aguilar: moves on human scale, a ten year survey, at Gallery 400 University of Illinois at Chicago.