COLLIDOSCOPE | Einar and Jamex de la Torre

The exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture (The Cheech), includes 40 works of mixed-media, collage, lenticular prints, glass, and installation art. Collidoscope premiered in June 2022 at The Cheech in Riverside, California. The stop at the CAT will be the eighth, but the first in the Midwest.  

Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, and now living both in San Diego and Baja California, Einar and Jamex de la Torre have navigated life on both sides of the border since their youth and have inherited their own unique vision of these cultures. Their visually complex work is infused with humorous elements exploring art, history, and material culture. Working with glass, resin, lenticular prints, and found objects, the brothers create work inspired by Mexican folk art, popular culture, religious imagery, consumer culture, and mythology. Many elements of the exhibition, including the title and curatorial framework, try to echo the creative process of the artists, serving as an allegory of their intellectual pursuits, their technical use of materials and media, and their use of wordplay and poetic riddles. 

“When the opportunity to bring this outstanding nationally-touring exhibition of the de la Torre brothers to the Twin Cities presented itself, we had to say, ‘Yes!’” says Kathie Cafesjian Baradaran, president and CEO of the CAT. “Their work is witty, dynamic, and full of layers of meaning. I know that CAT visitors old and new will love it — and we’re especially looking forward to having the artists visit the museum in the fall to share insight into their artistic vision and perspective as leading contemporary Latino artists.” 

“This is the first time the CAT will be highlighting Chicano art in our galleries,” says Linnea Seidling, assistant curator of glass, and exhibition coordinator. “We are less than three years old, and we are eager to showcase outstanding works of art by a range of artists, including Latino/Chicano artists. As an institution committed to art, learning, and serving our many communities, hosting Collidoscope allows us to be a hub for timely conversations.”

Einar and Jamex de la Torre have had 18 solo museum exhibitions in six different countries, completed eight major public art projects and participated in four biennales. Their work is represented in collections including the Cheech Marin Collection, and they are recipients of honors including the USA Fellowship Award, the San Diego Art Prize, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award. They were born in Guadalajara, México, and today live and work in both Ensenada, Baja California, México and San Diego, California, where they focus on their signature style of mixed-media work with blown-glass sculpture and lenticular printing. Their pieces represent a multifaceted view of life reflecting a complex, humorous and baroque aesthetic. Influences range from religious iconography to German expressionism while also paying homage to Mexican vernacular arts and pre-Columbian art. 

            The Cafesjian Art Trust Museum (The CAT) is a dynamic modern and contemporary art museum in the Twin Cities that inspires creativity, curiosity, and connection through art.  The museum is free and invites everyone to experience a growing collection, stunning exhibitions, and robust programming in a welcoming space. Open Thursday-Saturday with free reservation-only tours weekdays at 10 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays the museum is free and open between 10 and 4:30 with no reservations required. The Museum also offers free programming for families, students, teachers, people with disabilities, and community partners. For reservations, visit cafesjianarttrust.org or call 612.359.8991. 

ABOUT THE DE LA TORRE BROTHERS: Collaborating artists and brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre were born in Guadalajara, México (1963 and 1960, respectively) where they grew up until their family moved to California in 1972. They both studied at California State University at Long Beach and taught at the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Currently, the brothers live and work on both sides of the border (Ensenada, Baja California, México and San Diego, California). Since the mid-1990s, the brothers have collaborated in earnest and worked together to develop their signature style of mixed-media work with blown-glass sculpture and lenticular printing. Their pieces represent a multifaceted view of life that reflects a complex and humorous aesthetic that could be seen as baroque. Influences range from religious iconography to German expressionism while also paying homage to Mexican vernacular arts and pre-Columbian art. To date they have had 18 solo museum exhibitions in six different countries, completed eight major public art projects and have participated in four biennales. Their work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the Cheech Marin Collection and they are recipients of the USA Fellowship Award, the San Diego Art Prize, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, among other honors. The de la Torre brothers are represented by Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, visit www.delatorrebrothers.art. 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN LATINO: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino advances the representation, understanding and appreciation of Latino history and culture in the United States. The museum provides resources and collaborates with other museums to expand scholarly research, public programs, digital content, collections and more. The museum operates its Molina Family Latino Gallery, the Smithsonian’s first gallery dedicated to the Latino experience, at the National Museum of American History. The legislation creating the National Museum of the American Latino at the Smithsonian passed Dec. 27, 2020. Connect with the museum at latino.si.edu, and follow @USLatinoMuseum on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

ABOUT RAM AND THE CHEECH MARIN CENTER FOR CHICANO ART & CULTURE: RAM is one museum with two locations: the Riverside Art Museum and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, which opened June 18, 2022, in downtown Riverside, the “City of Arts & Innovation.” RAM integrates art into the lives of people in a way that engages, inspires, and builds community by providing high quality exhibitions and art education programs that instill a lifelong love of the arts. RAM’s desire to further engage and serve the community was the impetus to create The Cheech, a public-private partnership between RAM, the City of Riverside, and comedian Cheech Marin—one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art. Marin’s gift of approximately 500 works by Chicana/o/x artists—including the likes of Carlos Almaraz, Judithe Hernández, Gilbert “Magú” Luján, Sandy Rodriguez, Frank Romero, and Patssi Valdez—to RAM’s permanent collection makes the collection a repository for one of the largest holdings of Chicana/o/x art by a non-ethnic specific contemporary art museum. The Cheech is dedicated to showcasing Chicana/o/x art and honoring and exploring its continued social, cultural, and political impact through a comprehensive exhibitions program of the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions organized at the center, as well as nationally touring exhibitions that align with the center’s vision. The Cheech intends to work collaboratively with community partners to present thought-provoking educational programming that explores the complexity of Chicana/o/x culture not only through the visual arts, but in both music and film as well, recognizing that this art is evolving and expanding its definitions and parameters in response to current social conditions and in conversation with global artistic movements. For information about The Cheech, visit www.thecheechcenter.org. Find The Cheech on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thecheechcenter), Twitter (@thecheechcenter), and Instagram (@thecheechcenter). 

Image: ¡2020!, 2020. Einar de la Torre (American, born Mexico, 1963), and Jamex de la Torre (American, born Mexico, 1960). Mixed-media, blown-glass, and cast resin. 33 x 22 x 14 in. Collection of the Cafesjian Art Trust Museum, 2024.370.3.