HAPPENING 2018
NOW / AHORA / TIJUANA
BRIAN & RYAN / DANIEL BARRON / SERGIO DE LA TORRE / BENJAMIN DEL CASTILLO / ALEJANDRO DIAZ / BECKY GUTTIN / COLE GOODWIN / YASMINE K KASEM / LUCAS MURGIDA / RICARDO RIVERA / GABRIELA ELENA SUÁREZ / DON PORCELLA
SERGIO DE LA TORRE / DTSA
GRAND CENTRAL ART CENTER
125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701
tel: (714) 567-7233
grandcentral@fullerton.edu
Sergio De La Torre
Nuevo Dragon City
June 2-August 12, 2018
Guest Curated by Maurizzio Hector Pineda
in conjuction with additional Sergio De La Torre exhibitions and programming
throughout Downtown Santa Ana
New Dragon City, 2008, is the first in a series of works by artist Sergio De La Torre that explore the psyche of a seemingly invisible Chinese community living in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico. The single channel video aims to unveil this border town’s marginalized community through the lens of migrant teenagers living in the city.
The artist places his subjects within surreal atmospheres, employing cinematic cues from Luis Buñuel’s seminal 1962 film, The Exterminating Angel (El ángel exterminador). Through his work, De La Torre captures the fears and uncertainties of being trapped – anxieties and alienation internalized by many migrant communities on both sides of the border. The work addresses the hidden histories that impact current realities of many marginalized communityies, such as Santa Ana own history of erasing unwanted enclaves, notably, the Chinatown fire of 1906 during which the city eradicated a once bustling district.
The exhibition seeks to find common ground in the current political climate – an attempt to remind us of the down falls of alienating one another, and the options of uniting to create a community that fosters humanity, adaptability, connectivity, and the welcoming of individuals and cultures within ever-changing environments.
- Maurizzio Hector Pineda, Curator
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sergio De La Torre grew up in the border cities of Tijuana/San Diego and works as an educator, filmmaker, photographer, and activist. His practice explores immigration, labor, and transnational identities. He currently lives and works in the Bay Area Mission District and is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Fine Arts at the University of San Francisco. He has been honored with grants from the NEA, The Rockefeller Foundation, Creative Capital, the Potrero Nuevo Fund, and the Creative Work Fund. He has exhibited at: SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA, The Tunisian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, Italy,The LA Biennial, The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, Arizona State University Museum of Art, Museum Contemporary Art San Diego, CA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, Institute for Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA,Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Belgium,Centro Cultural España Buenos Aires, Argentina, Border Biennial, El Paso TX and Ciudad Juarez, México, Centro de la Imagen, México DF, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX, California Orange County Biennial 06.
BASEMENT PROJECT
207 N Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Sergio De La Torre/We the dust the wind will be available by appointment June 2nd-30th 2018. This show is part of a multi-venue exhibition throughout DTSA.
Basement Project will present two video works by artist Sergio De La Torre, Noise, 2014 and We The Dust The Wind, 2013 Based on Julio Cortazar's short story "La Casa Tomada", We The Dust, The Wind tells the story of a house that is occupied by noise. There is so much of it that the inhabitants had to leave the house.
GALLERY 6/67
404 W 4th Street, Ste. K
Santa Ana, California 92701
Gallery 6/67 will present works by artist Sergio De La Torre; I am an immigrant (2018), City (2011), NOVACANCIES (2010), DRIVERS (2009),
Ciudad Santuario (2009).
I Am An Immigrant is a series of 20 prints dealing with the ongoing and never-ending debate on immigration. By adding and subtracting words, the piece intends to makes us reflect on our own condition as non-natives. City is a set of interviews of young Chinese that live in downtown Tijuana. Downtown Tijuana has become the "City" for local hipsters. And just like any other "City" immigrants are ignored in any sort of cultural, social, economic or political project - and just like Cici says in the interview "the big dog eats the small dog."
City is a set of interviews of young Chinese that live in downtown Tijuana. Downtown Tijuana has become the "City" for local hipsters. And just like any other "City" immigrants are ignored in any sort of cultural, social, economic or political project - and just like Cici says in the interview "the big dog eats the small dog."
No Vacancies is a 60 feet long accordion-style book that portrays the general locations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have occurred in the Bay Area. In the last years, there have been a series of raids by the ICE in the Bay Area, creating instability and stress throughout the immigrant community at large. Many non-profits have been taking action with local immigrant communities, from rallies and demonstrations to meeting with local community leaders. During my research on immigration, I consulted with a couple of these non-profits (Dolores Community Center and CARECEN), and with them, I was able to get general locations on the raids; these locations have inspired this project. I went out to the general location, and without having the exact address, I photographed both sides of the entire block.
Drivers is a series of five photographs of limousine service drivers at different international airports. In front of the camera, a driver patiently waits with a sign in hand for an artist that will never arrive. The artists include Gabriel Orozco, Olafur Eliasson, Francis Alÿs, Maurizio Cattelan and Rikrkit Tiravanija. The artists' names are selected based on their international presence within contemporary art spaces including museums, galleries, publications, and art events over the last ten years.
Ciudad Santuario is a short animation that traces 2008-2009 Police checkpoints in the Mission District in San Francisco. Based on the Sanctuary City Ordinance, the San Francisco Police Department should not cooperate with ICE. But this has not been the case. We saw 15 ICE raids in San Francisco between 2008 and 2009 terrorizing the immigrant communities, both documented and undocumented.