Giovanni Valderas
My most recent paintings incorporate mixed media, including
indigenous fabrics, duct tape, paper, acrylic paint, wood,
and drawing. I pull from my culture, history, and origins to
produce three-dimensional paintings that address my tattered
relationships with my Guatemalan, Mexican, and American
ancestry. Elements of the traditional piñata are deconstructed
and incorporated into these works in order to transform the
piñata’s original identity as gratuitous celebration into one of
cultural construct.
In addition, I incorporate several colloquial idioms found in
Chicano/Latinx communities. The texts I incorporate are very
authentic terms used in everyday slang and at times can fail
literal translation, which acts as a metaphor for society’s
misunderstanding of cultures deemed foreign. I also select these
terms in the hope of reaching an audience not typically familiar
or comfortable with art, as a way of being more inclusive.
By utilizing brightly colored fringe, the work also becomes a
sentimental offering to our Latinx communities.
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![](https://nap-master.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/entry_thumb/public/ValderaB.jpg?04Ej019_vCWin9EFQoz4UZBA1GwzD1Jj&itok=ptYVlBuq)
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