by Patricia Frischer
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Lana Moss |
Exquisite Potential: Surviving the 21st Century through Surreal Metamorphosis is on view until May 9 at The FRONT Arte y Cultura in San Ysidro. This gallery space is run by Francisco Eme, a SD Art Prize recipient from 2024 and is a great community resource. This is the 19th year of the annual Día de la Mujer juried and invitational exhibition. We love to see when galleries combine both types of entries. You can see this year’s curator Ariana Torres choices clearly as she is the Assistant Curator at the Mingei International Museum. She specializes in textiles, jewelry, and cultural storytelling, focusing on Filipinx and Mexican/Chicanx narratives. The exhibition features work from over 20 international and local BIPOC women and non-binary artists from both sides of the border.
Be assured when an artist enters a juried show, it is vital to know the selector and what their special interest are. In this case, we loved the fact that there were so many artefact-like works in the show. The exhibition notes that it is drawing inspiration from the Surrealist movement and you could see that in Sarah Garcia’s furred cup or Aida Urbina’s landscapes but certainly the exhibition could not be called surreal. Yes, there is mythmaking like the strange house about hair by Helena Westra and Georgina Treviño’s platonic love swing. And fascism was brought to the fore in the embroidered warships of Aidelen Montoya.
But
it appears that Torres love of objects ruled the day and we are happy with that
as it was hard to choose which images to share of the many on display. Lana
Moss‘s fork appears as the devil’s pitchfork. Alejandra Dueñas’s little
pottery woman holds all her hopes and dreams. Isa Guadalupe Medina’s fish
is a masterwork of beaded glory. Alondra
Zamorano’s woodcut
bull is enlivened by a frame the likes of which we have never seen.
One
thing is very true in reading the artists’ statements about their work. They
are all in stages of metamorphosis. They are changing from childhood to
adulthood, from the effects of society, from fear to empowerment. And yes, this
potential for change is exquisite.
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Alejandra Dueñas |
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Georgina Treviño |
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Georgina Treviño - detail |
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Akiko Surai |
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Avia Rose Ramm |
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Sarah Garcia |
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Ari Bird |
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Ari Bird |
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Isa Guadalupe Medina |
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Kerianne Quick - detail |
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Mônica Lóss |
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Helena Westra |
Helena Westra
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Aidelen Montoya |
Aidelen Montoya
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Alondra Zamorano |
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Alexandra Carter |
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Aida Urbina |
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Breanna «Nana» Rohde |
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Nicole Antebi |
Nicole Antebi
Gallery View
Exquisite Potential:
Surviving the 21st Century through Surreal Metamorphosis
The
FRONT Arte Cultura
On view until May 9
Exhibition
Tour/ Artist Talk, May 7th, 2026, 5 – 7 pm
147
West San Ysidro Blvd. San Ysidro, CA 92173
Open hours: Tues – Sat 11am – 6pm
(619)
428-1115 Ext. 206 thefront@casafamiliar.org
Kerianne Quick
Georgina Treviño
Aidelen Montoya
Sarah Garcia
Akiko Surai
Helena Westra
Ari Bird
Paola Capó
Aida Urbina
Alejandra Dueñas
Alexandra Carter
Alondra Zamorano
Ana Villalpando
Ana Violeta Horta
Angela Zamora
Avia Rose Ramm
Breanna «Nana» Rohde
Elizabeth Rooklidge
Gabrielle Berens
Isa Guadalupe Medina
Lana Moss
Laura Estela Huerta Ponce
Mônica Lóss
Nicole Antebi
Olivia Arreguín
Paloma Gonzalez, Unapiel
Simone Quiles
Sitoë Thiam / n-girls collective
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