Enrique Chagoya at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Enrique Chagoya is included in a group exhibition of prints by Chicanx artists and their cross-cultural collaborators at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC. Derived primarily from the museum's permanent collection, ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now explores the rise of these graphics within early social movements, such as the civil rights, labor, anti-war, feminist and LGBTQ+ movements, and the ways in which Chicanx artists since then have advanced innovative printmaking practices attuned to social justice and have shifted the notion of the word 'Chicano.'

On view in the exhibition is Chagoya’s 2004 codex The Ghost of Liberty. In his codices, Chagoya reimagines history by employing the traditional Mayan book-making technique and combining imagery from a plethora of historic and contemporary sources. One such example of Chagoya's appropriative style here is his interpretation of Philip Guston’s satirical series of works depicting Richard Nixon, Poor Richard, for a portrait of George W Bush. 

¡Printing the Revolution! is on view through August 8, 2021. More information and virtual programming for the exhibition can be found here.

Read a brief article on the exhibition in the Los Angeles Times, or read an interview with the exhibition's curator, E. Carmen Ramos, via ARTnews.