COLLECTIVE: Juan Cruz & Fred Villanueva
August 22, 2020 - October 10,
2020
COLLECTIVE, an exhibition featuring works by Dallas artists and Ash
Studios affiliates Juan Cruz and Fred Villanueva, from August 22 through
September 19, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the Pollock is open by appointment
only; to arrange a visit, email emelo@smu.edu or fredvillanueva@gmail.com.
COLLECTIVE is curated by Pollock Gallery Director Sofia Bastidas Vivar; exhibition design
was a collaboration between the artists and the curator.
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Villanueva is co-founder of Ash Studios, a
community arts center near Fair Park where artists and local residents
collaborate, experiment and explore cultural and political ideas. The show at
the Pollock mirrors the collective nature of Ash Studios and the work that Cruz
and Villanueva undertake there. The show features four paintings by Cruz and 11
by Villanueva, along with two Villanueva sculptures that are prototypes for
public art projects. Two of Villanueva’s paintings are accompanied by digital
topographic prints on paper that represent Indigenous archeological sites. The
works embody the artists’ interest in the city as a space for collective
learning and creation, particularly the making of art that is scalable and
architecturally relevant, including murals and public art projects. Their works
at the Pollock reflect on geography, three-dimensionality and accessibility.
Some of the design elements of the exhibition
also recall Ash Studios’ space. At Ash, colored paper is provided for members
of the public to use in art creation. At the Pollock, that same colored paper
is hung on the walls as a backdrop for the mounted paintings; in addition, some
of the paper is set aside for Pollock visitors’ art experimentation.
In a similar vein to Ash Studios, the Pollock
Gallery provides a space for critical engagement
with art and pedagogy. “The COLLECTIVEexhibition also acts as a working space where collective making is questioned
and studied as a very primal instinct of building together,” said Bastidas
Vivar. “It reflects on the possibilities embedded within the network of
creatives who come in and out of the studio space as well as the gallery space,
and what they can offer to the city around more scalable and long-term
approaches to art.”