MexiCali Biennial art program moves to The Cheech in Riverside

Have you become aware of a biennial? It's an art-world thing: a significant exhibition of contemporary art, mounted every two years, and indicated to stimulate discussion. Desert X, occurring now in the Coachella Valley, is one.

When I saw that The Cheech, Riverside's brand-new Chicano art museum, would play host to the MexiCali Biennial, my first idea was: The MexiCali Biennial, a binational exhibition uniting some 40 artists from Mexico and California? That sounds legendary.

My doubt was: Uh, I've never ever heard of the MexiCali Biennial. Should I have?

It ends up that the MexiCali Biennial, while a severe effort, is also a joke on biennials.

Luis Hernandez and Ed Gomez were in their 20s when they founded the biennial in 2006.

" When we began," Hernandez, a painter from Mexicali, informed me in current conversation at The Cheech, "there were a great deal of biennials turning up all over the world. We were recent college graduates and no one was inviting us to those biennials.

" Rather than wait to be invited," he continued, "we created our own biennial and invited our artist pals - - so we might state we showed in a biennial."

I'm envisioning art-world gatekeepers browsing a resume specifying that artist so-and-so had revealed at the MexiCali Biennial. The gatekeepers would never ever have heard of the MexiCali Biennial but would not desire to admit it for worry of looking out of touch. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG).
The first MexiCali Biennial had two shows: one in a rundown house in Mexicali, a city on the Mexican side of the border, with artists from L.A., the second in a studio in Boyle Heights and featuring Mexican artists.

The occasions were promoted through punk music-type leaflets and "word of mouth," recalled Gomez, now an associate professor of art and design at Cal State San Bernardino.

Gomez and Hernandez likewise sent out printed invites to make the biennial look expert.

" We're artists," Hernandez said with a smile, "we liked the idea of teasing biennials and the prestige of those kind of events.".

It's a punk mindset with some cultural underpinnings. "Latinos as artists tend to have fun with the conventions and produce something various," Hernandez described.

The biennial nowadays is a not-for-profit arts company with grant funding. But it remains nomadic, occurring in brand-new venues each time, and artist-run. The principals - - besides Gomez and Hernandez, they are Rosalía Romero and April Lillard-Gomez - - come up with a style and invite artists to submit.

Ed Gomez, left, Luis Hernandez, Rosalía Romero and April Lillard-Gomez are the co-curators of the MexiCali Biennial, a binational effort of artists from Mexico and California. "Art Actions Exchanges," which checks out the biennial's 17-year history, and "Land of Milk & & Honey "are both at The Cheech in Riverside. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG).
This brings us to "Land of Milk & & Honey, "the brand-new program on the second level of The Cheech and the primary task of the MexiCali Biennial.

Introduced in Santa Cruz last fall, the taking a trip exhibit will be in Riverside through May 28. A spinoff solo show by artist Fred Brashear Jr. focusing on the Nopal cactus is at the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands through May 7.

The style is farming and food, expressed in sculptures, mixed-media works, paintings and digital media by artists from California and Mexico.

" We think this is agent of what artists in the region are doing now," said Romero, an art historian at Pomona College. "It's an amazing program and we're really happy with it.".

A couple of examples: video of two female hands kneading maize dough, showing domestic labor; an altar-like installation of LPs and CDs of music reflecting the farmworker experience; a tricked-out, tailored tamale cart; and a sculpture that utilizes household pictures from Juarez and Cucamonga, both locations linked to the artist's grandparents.

One favorite of mine is a satirical brief movie about a telecommuting worker in Mexico who by pushbutton runs a device in the U.S. This developed however strangely possible task is treated with utmost gravity in the film, which calls this class of workers "cybraceros.".

That's a mixture of the online world and the 1942-64 bracero program of short-term labor agreements between the U.S. and Mexico. Alex Rivera made his film in 1997 and it seems fresher than ever.

" Don Audelio" is a portrait of a retired farmworker along the Central Coast done by Narsiso Martínez on flattened produce boxes. It's on display in "Land of Milk & & Honey "at The Cheech in Riverside as part of the MexiCali Biennial. (Courtesy The Cheech).
Surveying the mix of media in "Land of Milk & & Honey," Hernandez, a painter, admitted he's stunned there aren't more paintings. (No one can implicate him of predisposition in his options.) But he comprehends why, given the nature of the show.

" New media," he said, "is much better to communicate concepts.".

Potentially the most appealing piece is a 10-foot diameter ring filled with a certain commercial food. The title of Jazmin Urrea's piece says everything: "Flamin' Hot Cheetos.".

Her piece is indicated as a commentary on highly processed food, synthetic food dyes, weight problems and lack of access to nutritious food.

When I visited, it was a popular selfie area, individuals standing with phones held high to get themselves and the ankle-high swimming pool of crunchiness in the same frame.

" Are these Flamin' Hot Cheetos?" one passerby exclaimed in amusement. "All I can say is, do not let any high schoolers up here.".

Later on, 2 girls were observed laughing on their method to the bathroom. Said one: "That's insane!" Said the 2nd: "It's literally Hot Cheetos!".

Similar to any museum, you shouldn't touch the art, and you absolutely shouldn't consume it. In this case, the Cheetos are old and probably ended, if that makes a difference.

Hernandez marveled: "They have not lost color. They haven't lost shape or type.".

Gomez confided: "The artist stated dogs would turn up, sniff it and escape. But with the people, it's a various story.".

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This was my 4th newspaper job in 10 years, and it seems to have actually stuck. Friday marks 26 years for me at what's now a group of linked papers that consists of The Sun, The Press-Enterprise and The Daily Facts.

David Allen writes Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, columns that dogs come up to, smell and flee from. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook and @davidallen909 on Twitter.