Curated by Dr. Emmanuel Ortega, Marilynn Thoma Scholar and Assistant Professor in Art of the Spanish Americas at UIC
Presented as part of the larger exhibition at University of Illinois Chicago’s Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St.
January 18 - March 16, 2024
Contemporary Ex-Votos is the first exhibition to pair historic ex-votos with new works by contemporary Latinx artists. Painted on tin and other found materials, ex-votos are small and vivid devotional paintings that tell the story of a miracle. Painted by unknown everyday people, often indigenized artists, these ex-votos were displayed in sanctuaries and other communal contact zones across Mexico. Like many works in the Hull-House collection, ex- votos blur art historical distinctions between fine art and craft. Their position as neither fine art objects nor historic(al) document assigns them to a fixed place as “curious” and “naive” objects of the past. This exhibition rethinks ex-votos outside these categories and proposes instead an understanding that unleashes their potentiality in the study of Mexican daily life and a renewed artistic worth.
The historic 19th and 20th-century ex-votos on view here are from the permanent art collection of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) University Art Museum. At the larger exhibition at UIC Gallery 400, thirteen contemporary Latinx artists respond to the NMSU collection. These artists expand upon the genre through considerations of scale, medium, and disparate approaches to contemporary devotion. See the contemporary works of Contemporary Ex-Votos at UIC Gallery 400, here on the UIC campus at 400 S. Peoria St.
The full presentation of the exhibition across UIC Gallery 400 and the Jane Addams Hull- House Museum creates space for the contemplation of themes that link the past with the present, including devotion, healing, women, resilience, and place.
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Contemporary Ex-Votos: Devotion Beyond Medium originated at the NMSU University Art Museum. This exhibition is made possible by support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Major support for the exhibition at UIC Gallery 400 is provided by The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional support provided by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the School of Art & Art History, College of Architecture Design, and the Arts, University of Illinois Chicago.
Featured artists at Gallery 400: Justin Favela, Eric J. García, Francisco Guevara, Dan45 Hernandez, Juan Molina Hernández, John Jota Leaños, Guadalupe Maravilla, Yvette Mayorga, Daisy Quezada Ureña, Krystal Ramirez, Sandy Rodriguez, Xochi Solis, José Villalobos
About Gallery 400
Operating within the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Gallery 400 endeavors to make the arts and its practitioners accessible to a broad spectrum of the public and to cultivate a variety of cultural and intellectual perspectives. Gallery 400 supports contemporary art, architecture, and design through exhibitions, lectures, publications, and programs that prioritize interpretative reflection and critical inquiry. To learn more and visit click here.
Banner image: Detail Installation View: Selection of NMSU Permanent Collection Retablos (Detail), artwork courtesy of NMSU Permanent Collection. Image by: Marcus Xavier Chormicle
