Cruzando Borders: A Topography of Decay and Resilience

Gil Rocha
September 14–October 19, 2024
Opening reception Saturday, September 14, 5:00-7:00 pm
Artist will be in attendance

Artist's statement

In "Cruzando Borders: A Topography of Decay and Resilience" I explore the complex narratives woven into the landscapes that straddle the U.S.-Mexico border. This body of work is a testament to the persistence of life amidst decay and the undying spirit that refuses to be silenced by the forces of division.

My work is deeply rooted in my experiences growing up in the 1980s and 90s, a time when I frequently crossed from Laredo, Texas into Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Mexico to visit friends and family. Later, as a teenager and young adult, I would immerse myself in the vibrant nightlife of the border. The nightclubs of that era, pulsating with the beats of Cumbias, Hip Hop and Corridos, were more than just places of escape—they were spaces where cultures collided, and stories unfolded. Venturing into Boys Town (La Zona), I witnessed firsthand the raw, unfiltered realities of life along the border. The vibrant colors, women, smells, textures, signs, sounds and neon lights of that spectacle played a vital role in my development as an artist and an indelible mark on my art.

Even though a lot has changed, and seldom do I go across anymore, I continue to see signs of a vibrancy that resonates from those days. Drawing from Rasquache aesthetics, my art embraces the imperfect, the discarded, and the overlooked, transforming these elements into powerful symbols of endurance and resistance.

Music plays a vital role in shaping this narrative. The rhythms of Cumbias and the stories told through Corridos infuse the work with a pulsating energy, reflecting the heartbeat of border culture. These musical influences resonate through the images and text that punctuate each piece. The presence of beautiful women, both in imagery and symbolism, adds a layer of sensuality and strength, that highlights the fragility of fading beauty.

Through a combination of mixed media, found objects, and organic materials, I aim to create a visual dialogue that reflects the dualities of this region—the beauty and the brutality, the decay and the renewal. The integration of text within my work serves as both a narrative and a visual element, guiding the viewer through stories of crossing, struggle, and survival. Each piece in this exhibition is a fragment of a larger narrative, a story of crossing not just physical boundaries, but also the borders of identity, culture, and humanity itself. In this exhibition, I invite viewers to contemplate the tensions and harmonies that define the borderlands and to consider their own place within these broader narratives.

Gil Rocha is a South Texas artist, former educator, and curator born in Laredo. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2006), a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio (1999), and is certified as an all-level Texas Educator from Texas A&M International University (2002).

For the past 25 years, Rocha's professional artistic career has led him to engage in a variety of programs taking on roles that span from facilitating workshops for community based projects, participating on panels, and working on public artworks and murals, in collaboration with galleries and museums on the national and international level. His artwork expands across painting, collage, sculpture, assemblage, installation, and writing. He focuses on issues about the U.S./Mexico border and takes on a survivalist approach known as "Rasquache."

Most recently, Rocha's work has been shown at the 2024 Border Biennial at the El Paso Museum of Art, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, the Chicano Park in San Diego, Kinfolk House Gallery in Fort Worth and at Soy de Tejas: A Survey of Latinx Art at Centro de Artes in San Antonio.

Rocha's fall/winter schedule includes group shows at Gerald Peters Contemporary in Santa Fe, Gallery 400 H in Fort Worth, and the 2024 Texas Biennial at the Blaffer Art Museum in Houston. His co-collaboration experimental short film Ingles Sin Fronteras will be featured at the Future Traditions Festival in Austin and, to finish off the year, he will be part of the UCROSS Foundation Artists Residency Program in Clearmont, Wyoming.