La frontera (the borderlands) is a place of transition, where the realities of existence transcend borders and create a hybrid space. The borderlands have given rise to a particular kind of artist: a social observer, activist, and creator.
The artists here use automobile imagery and irreverent humor to highlight issues of migration and femicide. Countless borderland women experience acts of violence or disappear while crossing the border including to and from the maquiladoras (factories) where they work.
To survive the borderlands
you must live sin fronteras
be a crossroads.
Margarita Cabrera
Latinx, born 1973 in Monterrey, Mexico, lives and works in San Antonio
Agua que no has de beber, déjala correr | Water That You Should Not Drink, Let It Run
2006–22
Vinyl and thread with model parts
Collection of the artist and courtesy of Tally Dunn Gallery, Dallas, Texas. © 2023 Margarita Cabrera/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY). Photo © Denver Art Museum
Margarita Cabrera’s cascading Hummers loosely re-create the US/Mexico border. From 2005 to 2010, General Motors manufactured components of their H3 Hummer in Mexican maquiladoras (factories), places that employ a mostly single, female workforce that’s underpaid and exposed to toxic materials. Although production has stopped, labor conditions and toxic byproducts continue to adversely affect local communities.
Courtesy of Royale Projects, Los Angeles. © Rubén Ortiz Torres
Rubén Ortiz Torres
Mexican, born 1964: in Mexico City, lives and works in Los Angeles and San Diego
Glitter Protest
2020
Silver leaf, urethane, lead, candy paint, flake, and pigment on car hood
Courtesy of Royale Projects, Los Angeles. © Rubén Ortiz Torres
The revolución diamantina, or Glitter Revolution, refers to a movement begun in August 2019 where protesters threw pink glitter bombs at police to decry rampant violence against women.
By applying lacquer and glitter to a decommissioned Mexican border patrol vehicle, the artist demasculinizes the object and points to the complexity of life in this region.
Betsabeé Romero
Mexican, born 1963 in Mexico City, lives and works in Mexico City
Columna interminable (Endless Column)
2015
Rubber tires, metal armature, and gold leaf
Collection of Phoenix Art Museum: Gift of Friends of Mexican Art in honor of its 50th Anniversary, with additional generous support from Maria DeLongy, Greta Mock, Jacqueline and Paul Schulz, Kathren and Fritz Thomas, Kotzie Wheeler, and Greta Woods, 2016.28.A-T.
© Betsabeé Romero. Photo © Denver Art Museum
Betsabeé Romero uses well-worn tires, symbolic of mobility and migration, in sculptures that refer to both contemporary life and art of the ancient Americas. For example, Columna interminable features motifs associated with the Paracas (Peru), Aztec (Mexico), and Hohokam (Arizona) peoples. Romero reflects upon patterns of migration that long predate current geographic boundaries.
Exhibition Guide Sections
Desert Rider: Dreaming in Motion is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is presented with generous support from the Adolph Coors Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Christensen Fund, U.S. Bank, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.
