State of the Art LA: The Week in Latino Art

Image: Camilo Restrepo

State of The Art is Remezcla’s weekly guide to Latin art openings in your city each week. Mingle with art admirers, collectors and casual passersby to check out these new works. And don’t forget to grab a free glass of wine…or three.

El Sueño De La Razón Produce Monstruos — Steve Turner Contemporary

Chaos. Humor. Bright colors. All of these coexist in the work of Camilo Restrepo. For his upcoming solo show, “El Sueño De La Razón Produce Monstruos,” Restrepo creates works based on Colombian drug dealers and the characters they take on as reported in the country’s newspapers. Most of the time, drug dealers choose comic book characters, animals and more; these figures come into Restrepo’s works in a crazy world that he constructs. We get hints about certain brands and familiar faces but most of the compositions have thin, red lines over their surface that don’t make them easy to read. The fun comes in fishing out all the details Restrepo packs into each piece. His solo show will also include a new series called “Los Caprichos” based on Goya’s series of etchings. Head to Steve Turner Contemporary on May 3rd from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to get lost in Restrepo’s work.

The Yaqui Masks of Carlos Castaneda — Fowler Museum at UCLA

Steep yourself in some rich history this week by joining the Fowler Museum’s 50 year anniversary celebration and checking out some awesome, traditional masks. As part of the museum’s anniversary shows, “Fowler in Focus: The Yaqui Masks of Carlos Castaneda” showcases a collection from the 1960s of objects found by Carlos, an author and anthropologist. The Yaqui tribe originated in northern Mexico and Castaneda recorded and photographed some of their performances with these “pahko’ola” masks. According to the show description, “pahko’ola” means “old man of the fiesta.” We’re sure quite a few readers can think of an old man of the fiesta (you know, like your tio) but none of our modern parties include masks as fascinating as these. Head to the museum on May 1st from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the opening reception of the show to learn more.