Events' Realm

“Muddy Terrains” presents a diverse collection of newly created works from two artists’ residencies with CALA Alliance in the Spring and Summer of 2024. San Juan-based Mariana Ramos Ortiz (Puerto Rico, b. 1997) and Phoenix-based Estephania González (United States, b. 1989) explore the interconnected themes of environmentalism, self-determination and impermanence in the Southwest and the Caribbean Archipelago. The exhibition underscores some of the most critical themes pertinent to the region, including resource scarcity. In their dynamic practice that employs innovative printmaking techniques, Ramos Ortiz explores the qualities of the earth as they relate to the realities of occupation, protection and temporality. Drawing inspiration from the societal and spiritual perspectives of the Mexica peoples of pre-conquest Mexico and Latinx hair practices, González’s work underscores the cultural significance of water across space, time and geographies.


How does water access and water scarcity affect you and your community? How does land ownership and sovereignty shift your perspective on place?


“Muddy Terrains: Mariana Ramos Ortiz + Estephania González” is organized by ASUAM Senior Curator Alana Hernandez, with ASUAM Windgate Curatorial Fellow Sade Moore and made possible by generous funding from the Ford Foundation. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with a Community of Practice composed of Vania Guevara, Advocacy and Political Director, CHISPA AZ; Pita Juarez, Filmmaker, and Media and Communications Creative; and Elizabeth Pineda, Photographer and Faculty Associate at Arizona State University.

Phoenix

United States

Arizona

51 E. 10th St.

ASU Art Museum

Muddy Terrains: Mariana Ramos Ortiz + Estephania González

What role does community play in contemporary mothering experiences? How might we tackle taboo topics such as postpartum anxiety, rage, and birth trauma, while celebrating maternal joy, love, sacredness and the spectrum of emotions in between? What can we do to acknowledge the invisible labor of mothering, recognizing it is not a monolithic experience, and offering a rich tapestry of alternative, inclusive narratives? 


“Notes on Motherhood” explores various stages of matrescence, or “mother-becoming” –– from birth and caregiving to grief and loss. The exhibition challenges the narrow depictions of mothers and mothering within art history and visual culture. Drawing from the museum’s dynamic collection, the presentation assesses the presence and absence of nuanced, complex portrayals of motherhood. Often, maternity is viewed through a male gaze, with the image of the Madonna and Child dominating the experience. Alongside selections from the collection, the exhibition inserts voices and perspectives traditionally left out. Regional women-identified artists, such as Megan Driving Hawk (United States, b. 1988), Gabriela Muñoz (United States, b. Mexico 1980) and Ashley Czajkowski (United States, b. 1986), each offer a unique perspective on mothering, thereby expanding upon the limited understandings of birth, nurturing and unseen domestic labor. 


Artists include: Pitseolak Ashoona (Inuk, 1904–1983), James S. Baillie (United States, active 1838–1855), Judy Chicago (United States, b. 1939), Sue Coe (England, b. 1951), Ashley Czajkowski (United States, b. 1986), Francis de Erdely (United States, 1904–1959), Raoul Deal (United States, b. 1956), Louis Delsarte (United States, 1944–2020), Renée Dennison (Diné, b. 1963), Megan Driving Hawk (United States, b.1988), Albrecht Dürer (Germany, 1491–1528), Margaret Garcia (United States, b. 1951), R.C. Gorman (Diné, 1933–2005), Mildred Howard (United States, b. 1945), Sara Hubbs (United States, b. 1978), Victoria E.H. Huntley (United States, b. 1900–1971), Käthe Kollwitz (Germany, 1867–1945), John P. Leeper (United States, 1909–1989), Adriana Lestido (Argentina, b. 1955), Gabriela Muñoz (United States, b. Mexico 1980), José Clemente Orozco (Mexico, 1883–1949), Lisa Reinertson (United States, b. 1955), Margery Ryerson (United States, 1886–1989), Edwin Scheier (United States, 1910–2008), Forrest Solis (United States, b. 1979), Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Tewa, b.1962), Akio Takamori (United States, 1950–2017), Dorothy Trujillo (Cochiti Pueblo, 1932–1999), Andy Warhol (United States, 1928–1987), June Wayne (United States, 1918–2011) and Russell Wray (United States, b. 1955).

Events at ASU Art Museum, United States

Muddy Terrains: Mariana Ramos Ortiz + Estephania González

Notes on Motherhood at ASU Art Museum