Images courtesy of the Museum of Latin American Art.
The Museum of Latin American Art’s (MOLAA) first solo exhibition featuring a Chicano artist will present a retrospective of Frank Romero’s work, encompassing over 50 years of the iconic Chicano artist’s career in Los Angeles.
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Dreamland: A Frank Romero Retrospective, organized by MOLAA and curated by Edward Hayes, celebrates the artist’s fascination with the city, and, through the lens of his perspective, examines the junction of American pop culture, Latin American heritage and the Chicano experience, according to the release.
“Seeing Frank’s works in the same place, you really get the picture,” said Cheech Marin, actor and art collector, in a statement. “He’s one of the great Chicano painters, and I like watching his levity.”
Los Four.
Born in East Los Angeles in 1941, Romero is a founding member of the Los Four art collective, the works of which were shown in a 1974 Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition and regarded as the first Chicano art exhibition in a mainstream museum.
The more than 200 pieces to be displayed include his early works, paintings from the Los Four period, political art from the 80s and 90s, large-scale paintings and murals and his recent works in neon and ceramics, according to museum officials.
Arrest of the Paleteros, 1996, Frank Romero.
“He has a great sense of humor and he can really manipulate paint,” said Marin in a statement. “It’s like a musician who knows how to play … he’s not counting anymore, he knows exactly what he’s doing, and his art unfolds just like that. It’s amazing to watch.”
Dreamland follows Romero’s life as a young Boyle Heights artist, to founding Los Four, establishing himself as a graphic designer and becoming “one of the most celebrated L.A. artists of our time,” stated the release.
Harbor Freeway, 2010, Frank Romero.
Major loans were secured from museums and private collections including: Death of Rubén Salazar (1986), Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM); History of the Chicano Movimiento (1998), Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA; Freeway Wars (1989),( LACMA); as well as key works from the AltaMed Art Collection and the Cheech Marin Collection, according to MOLAA.
The exhibition opening for Dreamland: A Frank Romero Retrospective is on Saturday, February 11 from 7:00PM to 9:00PM. Admission is $15 or free for MOLAA members.
Frank portrait with mural.
Attendees can see the retrospective for free the next day during the L.A. Retro Festival, from 11:00AM to 5:00PM.
For more information about MOLAA, visit the website here.
MOLAA is located at 628 Alamitos Avenue.
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