Mexican Exchange Artist to Showcase Two Exhibits This Summer

ASU Art Museum and nonprofit arts organization, CALA Alliance, are teaming up to bridge the gap between the burgeoning art and culture communities in Phoenix and Guadalajara, Jalisco in Mexico.
The two cities, which are often overshadowed by their metropolitan neighbors, Mexico City and Los Angeles, are seeking to make their presence known, and strengthen the bonds between their communities, with the GDL>PHX initiative.
The first program to launch in the initiative is an artist residency and cultural exchange program between the two cities called GDL>PHX Residencias Artísticas.
Gabriel Rico, a Guadalajara-based multimedia artist, will be the first GDL>PHX Residencias Artísticas participant.
“We are honored to welcome Guadalajara artist Gabriel Rico to Phoenix as the first resident artist for GDL>PHX Residencias Artísticas,” said Casandra Hernandez, curator of CALA Initiatives at ASU Art Museum. “We believe that artistic exchanges of this kind are vital to creating new culture flows between Arizona and Mexico. We are excited to support Gabriel’s first exhibition in the United States and see his creative practice grow in connection to this place and time.”
During his residency, Rico will present to exhibitions focused on nature, survival and the human condition this summer at ASU Art Museum and ASU Art Museum Project Space.
The first exhibit of the summer, and Rico’s first ever exhibit in the United States, titled DEAD, DEAD, LIVE, DEAD, will incorporate taxidermy animals, neon and found natural objects that will address the relationship between nature, architecture and the future ruins of civilization.
His second exhibition, Muere Vivo, Rico will display insects from ASU’s Hasbrouck Insect Collection from the ASU Natural History Collections with sculpture and video.
“Gabriel Rico is one of the most exciting artists of his generation coming from Mexico,” said Julio César Morales, curator at ASU Art Museum. “His approach to objects/materials is very unique, and working with ASU’s Life Sciences program promises to foster an excellent and vibrant exhibition.”