Saraybx
Studio
American Dream; The Land We
Want But Can't Have
Due to the American dream many children of immigrant parents face the struggle of being stuck in-between two cultures. Being born and raised in America only subjected me to that half of my identity, though I am still close to my Mexican culture through traditions and practices I never got to understand the other side, the other land. My series, influenced by Chicano artists in the late 1970’s, Mexican Muralism and Surrealism, explores my identity growing up Mexican in America. My series identifies aspects of an interior space of a home and a landscape to showcase the hybridity of my identity but the desire of wanting to explore an unknown land.
Chicano artists in the late 70’s used their works to represent the community and document their lifestyle to connect to others in a similar position or to educate those who were not familiar. I utilize linework and compositional strategies to guide the viewers around the series starting with cropped images of the Virgin Mary with Roses, the Crucifixion, and a sarape on the floor to highlight identifiers that stand out from my Mexican heritage. These images are found within a bigger painting that displays a living area combining all forms of American and Mexican objects to show cultural hybridity and emphasizes a compositional strategy that makes the viewer observe the whole picture. The addition of fabric for the curtains creates a focal point and diverts the audience to the next painting that resembles a window with its frame and curtains that the viewers can open. The landscape depicted was inspired by the surrealist approach of a dreamy, imaginative land with identifiers of Mexican scenery by incorporating native plants nopales and magueys. With the use of oils, I created depth by layering through glazing and wet on wet techniques to build up my value structure and my palette, derived from Mexican Muralism, enhances the bold, saturated colors that is seen within all individual pieces creating a cohesive series through imagery and formal qualities.
36 x 36 inches
oil and fabric on canvas
32 x 33 inches
oil on canvas, wooden frame, fabric
32 x 33 inches
oilon canvas, wooden frame, fabric
8 x 10 inches
oil on canvas
8 x 8 inches
oil on canvas
10 x 12 inches
oil on canvas