Reviews

by Michael Hernandez de Luna, July 2000

A grammatical frolic in the dialect called Spanglish- the mating of Spanish and English with heavy, fevered seasonings of sex, religion, and Chicano culture- engenders the multi-layered word "sextablos," and the outcome is pure, raw fun. The exhibition is based on the folk-art form of Mexican retablo painting: works painted on tin or found metal, intended to express spiritual gratification and personal piety to an assortment of saintly entities. Artists were invited to explore sex and its taboos, both within themselves and society, and the subsequent visual delights showcase over 180 eight-by-10-inch works that inspire a pool of adjectives... the ooohs and aaahs of provocative entertainment, or art. The surprising results were like the instructions for wearing a condom: Put it on, lube it up and hold on tight. Most importantly, the raw power of the exhibit is not intended to shock or be pornographic, but to explore the freedom of sexual preferences, emotions, and thought in a conventional world.

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