New Frost Art Exhibits Shed Light on Social Justice and Inequality

Felipe Cisternas / Staff Writer

The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum will be reopening this month with two new exhibitions, both explore issues of bias and discrimination, as well as everyday life for women and minorities.

“House to House: Women, Politics, and Place,” opens Sept. 26.  

With photographs and mixed media works, the exhibit examines the domestic space, where women were once confined by the social sensibilities of their times, as well as the public political space where their voices are increasingly heard.

“Otros Lados”, set to open on Aug. 22, features paintings by three Mexican American Artists.

“Al otro lado,” is a phrase used by Mexicans making a reference to the shared borders with the United States and the space populated by many Mexican immigrants on the “other side” of the Mexican-American border. 

“The art produced by Mexican and Mexican American artists in the U.S. has a long history that continues to reverberate–this echo is a dynamic and necessary narrative that expands traditional interpretations of American art,” said Amy Galpin, Chief Curator at the museum.

Artist Hugo Crosthwaite, whose paintings are featured in the exhibit, was born in Tijuana, Mexico and the cultural aesthetics are influenced with his crossing of the border between Mexico and the United States. The subject matter he paints is inspired by the novel A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande. 

The works of Itzel Basualdo, and Judith Hernandez, which also are featured in the exhibit, seem to share some of the same sort of social justice sensibilities that are discussed in A Dream Called Home.

“It’s thrilling to present work by  artists like Judithe Hernandez and Hugo Crosthwaite who are well known in other parts of the U.S, but have not been thoroughly studied in Miami,” said Galpin.

On August 18 of 1920, another underserved and underrepresented community, women, first became voters in the United States, following the passage of the 19th Amendment. 

The “House To House” exhibit, which will debut during the centennial anniversary celebration of the 19th Amendment’s ramification, is intended to raise awareness for discriminatory behaviors which women still seem to face today.

The exhibit will also profile women over the past century who have affected lasting change, from the suffragettes to modern feminists.  

Moreover, it is the often overlooked spaces, from domestic places to beauty salons, factories and courtrooms that are of interest in this exhibit–almost as if these atmospheric remonstrances provide an opportunity to consider some of the more elusive subtleties and nuances which underscored this epic fight for freedom and equality.

The exhibit features work by artists Aurora Milona, Catherine Opie, Martha Rosler, Laurie Simmons, Mickalene Thomas, and Deborah Willis.

One hundred years after women earned the right to vote in the United States, women’s struggle for equality continues to be at the forefront of public contreverversy. 

Likewise, for immigrants from Mexico and Central America, the hardships of illegal border crossings are often compounded  by the constant nagging uncertainty that their undocumented status may cut short their stay in the country. 

Activists and community leaders from 20th figures like Caesar Chavez to present day latinx leaders and political figures have taken up the cause of advocating for this vulnerable and at-risk population.

“We are eager to share work by three generations of Mexican and Mexican American artists at the Frost Art Museum this fall,” said Maryanna Ramirez, manager of strategic initiatives. ”We often hear discouraging stories about border crossing and U.S and Mexico relations in the news–this exhibition gives us the opportunity to look beyond headlines and toward the unique experience of living between two lands.”

House of House” and “Otro Lados” both continue in this tradition of using activism and art to shape policies, politics, and perspectives. With the 2020 election on the horizon, it would seem that this sentiment is perhaps now more relevant than ever.

“We organized both exhibitions at the Frost, virtually and physically, as a driver of change and dialogue,” said Jordana Pomeroy, Frost Art Museum director.